KAWS KASH
Misappropriated Icon
Genesis
In 2020, Strangecat Toys invited me to take part in Misappropriated Icon 3, a group show built around unlicensed bootleg versions of KAWS’ well-known companion figure. Each artist was asked to reinterpret the counterfeit base in their own direction, keeping the idea of “misappropriation” at the core.
It was an opportunity to approach a familiar form from a different angle and comment on the culture that surrounds it.
Concept
KAWS’ early work (appropriating advertising visuals and turning them into something new) was important for me when I started creating Art Toys. That stage had a sense of transformation and commentary that resonated deeply with how I understand the medium.
With time, his practice shifted toward repeating the same character in multiple formats and contexts. Nothing wrong with that in itself, but creatively it felt disconnected from the exploratory, idea-driven phase that had inspired me in the first place.
Because of this, I decided to remove the torso and replace it with a stack of gold coins, keeping only the head, hands and feet. The body would become currency as a way of framing the character as a product rather than a figure.
I also planned a coin slot on the forehead, with a coin entering it, and an open hand in a gesture of asking. The concept centred on turning the piece into a literal metaphor for value extraction and repetition.
The intention wasn’t to “attack” the artist, but to highlight how, in the current landscape, some works shift from creative expansion to brand repetition and market demand. My piece sits in there: an icon turned into a piggy bank.
Removing the structure and rebuilding it through accumulation rather than modelling was a strange but satisfying combination
The contrast between the smooth stylised head and the dense metallic body gave the piece exactly the presence I wanted.
Process
The bootleg base was hollow PVC, easy to cut and rework. I sculpted the facial features in my own graphic language and then built the body volume entirely from plastic coins, fixing and layering them until the silhouette felt cohesive and sculptural.
Outcome
The work was exhibited along other designer-toy scene artists at Redefine Gallery in Orlando, where it sold quickly.
Years later, V Collective contacted me about producing a 3-metre sculpture of this piece for a show in Shanghai. Since the original had been sold (and because this work reflects a specific commentary rather than the broader body of what I do) I declined its reproduction.
Instead, that conversation opened the door to proposing The Stormtourist, which eventually became the large-scale sculpture presented in Shanghai.
KAWS KASH stays at the intersection of critique and playfulness, echoing the show’s theme while articulating my view on how value and identity circulate within the designer-toy scene.
