Description

Welcome to the Dior Talks series themed around the sixth edition of Dior Lady Art and hosted by Paris-based journalist Katya Foreman. For this year’s event, 12 artists from around the world have participated in a game of metamorphosis by rendering the iconic Lady Dior handbag as a unique piece of art.

“The Lady Dior for me symbolizes craft, timelessness and style that transcends the everyday fluidity of fashion. It’s also part of a historical canon within the brand, so it’s a piece that I was very excited to play with for all those reasons,” says our latest guest on the podcast series, British-Liberian artist Lina Iris Viktor. 

The artist through her work, which is characterized by dark canvases enhanced by layers of light, explores the socio-political and spiritual symbolism of the colors black and gold. Viktor’s multidisciplinary approach, an interweaving of ancient and contemporary arts, has led her to combine painting, sculpture, performance and photography with a gilding technique using 24-carat gold.

In her captivating Lady Dior creations, the flora-themed visual scape of the artist’s The Dark Continent series merges with the gold symbology of Constellations. Evoking a starry sky and a lush landscape, handmade antique gold-plated bronze ornaments which include moons, stars and alligators created using delicate goldsmithing techniques, constellate five models crafted in canvas and lizard skin in shades of green, black and blue. 

In such a particular context, the Dior Lady Art project for Viktor presented a challenge to test new visual territory unexplored in her creative practice, as well as an opportunity to work with “creative visionaries and artisans at the top of their craft with expert skill in translating a unique vision.”

Bridging fashion and art, it also opened up the chance to experience how her art can be translated across mediums, spectrums, and forms. Tune in to the episode to hear all about Viktor’s personal experience of the Dior Lady Art journey.