STIK - Holding Hands Orange Print
STIK - Holding Hands Orange Print
Size - 50 x 50cm
Medium - Lithographic print in colour on 140 gsm smooth wove paper
Published and distributed with the Hackney Today Newspaper in London in 2020. From the limited edition of 108,000, with full margins, each with two central folds (as issued), in perfect cosmetic condition.
The edition of “Holding Hands” was created to celebrate the permanent installation of the monumental bronze sculpture within Hoxton Square in London. The prints were released by the local Hackney Today Newspaper, with one print within each of the 108,000 newspapers. The image of “Holding Hands” depicts two figures, moving in opposite directions, each seeming to be leading the other depending on where the viewer is standing, as a subtle reminder to view the world from other people’s perspectives.
STIK is an anonymous British street artist from London is known for his iconic depictions of unassuming stick figures scrawled upon water towers, brick walls, and gated doors around the globe. Meant to convey feelings of insecurity in an urban setting, the artist draws from his own experience of homelessness as a young man. “A lot of my work is loaded with a kind of melancholy,” he has said. “But I do try to put a positive or a light bit of gravitas in it so people can actually relate to it and it feels like something human.” Quickly becoming a much-talked-about persona on the street, he has continued to remain conscientious of the community, who will live amidst his work after its completion. In 2011, Stik was the subject of a solo show at Imitate Modern Gallery in London, and has continued to participate in many worldwide exhibitions after that.
STIK’s figures radiate generosity and vulnerability, skilfully expressed in just a few, gestural lines. STIK began creating unofficial public art in East London in the early 2000’s. The official and permanent installation of the monumental “Holding Hands” bronze sculpture in Hackney’s Hoxton Square represents a homecoming of these sorts. For STIK, this image is a testament to hope and community, a “sign of universal love and solidarity”, which is as resonant today as it will be a century from now.