STUCK 2022

Curator: First impressions? It’s stark. Something about the confined figure set against that fierce orange is grabbing me. Editor: Yes, it evokes a feeling of melancholic confinement, that the figure wants to leave. Curator: Well, let's delve into it. We're looking at "STUCK," a 2022 drawing by Kaws, crafted with coloured pencil and watercolor. Kaws, as many know, plays with pop culture icons to explore themes of consumerism, identity, and emotions. But what's fascinating here is the rawness compared to his slicker, vinyl figures. Editor: Kaws appropriates this figure from the common symbolic vocabulary that's available through mass production of the original, as it communicates on an international scale due to cultural awareness and psychological awareness. Curator: Right, the prison bars and what seems like Kaws' iconic Companion character trapped inside. It's unsettling, this contrast of familiar, almost comforting figure in such a hopeless state. I sense this anxiety from modern day feeling. Editor: The "X-ed" out eyes, that symbol so closely tied to Kaws' work, speaks volumes in this composition. Death? Absence? An erasure of self within confinement? They certainly amplify that feeling of melancholy. The bars represent something else that’s causing his melancholy, some sort of psychological barrier. Curator: Exactly! Kaws often re-contextualizes well-known characters or designs, imbuing them with a sense of emotional vulnerability. This is a reminder to be cautious about social conventions, in which one does not want to be stuck and feel hopeless and isolated. Editor: Plus, that saturated orange backdrop paired with the sombre blue enclosure heightens the tension. Colors have agency here, pushing the figure into a position of distress, it is supposed to cause unease with the user by evoking anxiety, and distress Curator: What strikes me is that Kaws, who made this "X-ed" motif the new it thing is using his most celebrated cultural creation to create awareness towards our current reality as we deal with complex topics. Editor: Yes, seeing how the figure has its head hung, looking towards the ground, in what could represent defeat; although still in such stylistic state to avoid evoking deep disturbance for those who might find the imagery alarming. Curator: “STUCK” certainly hits hard, especially with its unpolished form; with the strokes that indicate haste in the artists emotions Editor: Exactly. I came away thinking a bit about art as a vessel for feelings – a visual cry, almost – even through such commercial image Curator: Leaving me feeling more introspective and, maybe, a touch less alone in this complicated world.