Update (August 29): KAWS:HOLIDAY Shanghai made its grand reveal last night at the renowned North Bund dock along the Huangpu River, featuring a brand-new design: a large inflatable art installation of COMPANION sitting leisurely, holding the moon, and gazing at the sky. This marks the first light sculpture in the KAWS:HOLIDAY series.
Update (August 16): Shanghai’s rapidly developing North Bund area has been revealed as the next stop in the KAWS:HOLIDAY tour. After teasing the massive installation vis Instagram this week, the Brooklyn-based artist says that the work was made in collaboration with organizer JFJ Productions to honor the upcoming “Moon Festival’s tradition of displaying lanterns for good fortune.”
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Kaws/Allrightsreserved
Accompanying the installation, which will be on view from August 29 to September 1, 2024, is a limited edition collectible figurine produced with longtime Hong Kong-based creative studio AllRightsReserved. The latest “COMPANION” model is a scaled-down version of the original work going on view in North Bund and will be available on August 28 at 8:30pm CST in a brown, grey and black iteration. The vinyl figure measures at roughly 9.5 inches in length and is carrying an orbital moon on its chest, which glows in the dark.
As with all of KAWS’ releases, the figure will come with a certificated NFC chip of authenticity and there will also be a selection of hoodies and mugs also on sale at the online DDTStore and at the pop-up storefront at the Shanghai Kerry Centre.
Original Story (August 13): KAWS will be making the 11th stop on his global KAWS:HOLIDAY tour. Produced in collaboration with Hong Kong creative studio, AllRightsReserved, the Brooklyn-based artist took to Instagram to tease a series of trailers of one of his massive COMPANION figures lying on the ground during the night as a glowing moon lay in its lap.
Amongst his myriad collaborations, which have included cereal box illustrations and figures with General Mills and skin packs with Fortnite, KAWS’ partnership with AllRightsReserved has proved to be the most impactful — both in terms of their ongoing slate of sculptural releases and the massive installations they tour across the world under the HOLIDAY moniker.
The first KAWS:HOLIDAY launched in Seokchon Lake, Seoul in 2018 and has since made stops in Hong Kong, Mt. Fuji, Taipei, Changbai Mountain, China, Singapore, Melbourne, London and a virtual iteration where he launched his crossbones character into space. Each version is slightly different and the 11th stop in the tour will officially unveil at 11pm ET on August 15.
