The creative activities of Song Dong have spanned over ten years. Starting with Another Lesson: Do You Want to Play With Me? (1994), Song Dong consciously and fully participated in the movement and development of Chinese contemporary art. At that time, in his works of installation, video, painting, and performance, Song Dong channeled all his creativity and impulses, making full use of his then-profession as a middle school art teacher to express his desire to be involved in the development of contemporary art. At the same time, he attempted to spread and diffuse this desire. The phrase "Do you want to play with me?" was provocative at the time, and the participatory awareness reflected in it was very strong. In this work, Song Dong tried to play the role of a mentor, drawing people's attention and participation by comparing contemporary art to an interactive space in need of education and entertainment. This work had a certain cultural subversive impact in the unique cultural atmosphere of China at the time, and the exhibition was halted just half an hour after its opening. Its metaphorical reference to contemporary art reflected the country's urgency to understand and engage with globalization.
In the Supermarket exhibition held in Shanghai in 1999, Song Dong very consciously dressed as a guide for the "Song Dong Art Travel Agency," conducting a live tour of the exhibition and guiding visitors through the "art supermarket" of artworks. Here, the "classroom" had extended into the "field," the "students" had become "artists," and the "mentor" had transformed into the "interpreter." Song Dong’s change in self-identity suggested a certain level of maturity in the development of Chinese contemporary art.
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