VICTOR & VICTIM

DESCRIPTION

An intricately crafted wearable sculpture/bag made from deep burgundy-hued hand-boarded Madras vegetable tanned goatskin and is embellished with a pair of cerulean removable boxing gloves and a headgear bearing the slogan "I Have a Dream" in lambskin. The bag is also adorned with a pair of hand-polished, mirror-finished 316L stainless steel ‘hands’ in the form of a spring keyring - a signature emblem of the iCONS+ series. The bag is secured with a smooth Raccagni silver-tone zipper and features a front pocket with a clenched-fist symbol on the flap, - a powerful symbol of global solidarity against oppression.

The interior of the bag is fully lined in electric blue recycled cotton twill and has a small goatskin patch pocket. The artisan mark “E” and year of production mark “A” are stamped on the back of the right zipper stopper.

The bag is versatile and can be worn as a crossbody or shoulder bag with a single shoulder strap, or as a backpack with double shoulder straps. Alternatively, it can also be displayed as a beautiful art object.

MORE DETAILS

H20 x W14 x D10 cm (8” x 5.5” x 4”)
Exterior: 100% Hand-boarded Madras goatskin
Trims (Boxing gloves & headgear): 100% Lambskin
Interior: One goatskin patch pocket
100% Recycled cotton twill lining
Front flap pocket with magnetic closure
Two adjustable shoulder straps
Removable boxing gloves
Removable headgear
Hand-polished mirror finished 316L stainless steel hardware
Required 45 hours for one artisan to make
Cross-body, shoulder bag and backpack
Can also be displayed as an art object
Individually handmade in China
Reference No. CX23U0104009

STORY

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” (Yoda, “The Phantom Menace”, 1999)

This work, entitled Victor & Victim, is inspired by Jean-Michel Basquiat’s painting ‘Untitled (Boxer), 1982 and Michael Halsband’s 1985 double portrait of Andy Warhol and Basquiat pictured side-by-side and wearing Everlast boxing trunks and boxing gloves, with their arms crossed over their chests. This bold and highly contrasted photograph has become one of the most iconic portraits of the two artists.

Those familiar with Jean-Michel Basquiat would know that the neo-expressionist’s paintings of boxers are among his most personally and politically charged recurring subject matters. Born in Brooklyn, New York, of Haitian and Puerto Rican heritage, Basquiat confronted racism and experienced firsthand the economic struggle of the working class. He took to the streets of lower New York as his main subjects and sources of inspiration, starting his career by spray-painting enigmatic slogans and symbols on city streets. His vigorous handling of paints, spontaneous sense of line, muscular brushwork, inventive use of color, and coded criticisms of contemporary culture set him apart from the graffiti tags that predominated at the time.

Executed between 2020-2022, Victor & Victim is a direct response and a raw depiction set against a volatile backdrop of political and social unrest of the world during that time. A host of significant social and political issues and events have impacted communities, both locally and globally. Here are some of the events that dominated headlines between 2020-2022:

On 1 February 2021, Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup and declared a state of emergency, after detaining Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior figures from the ruling party. The human rights situation has deteriorated dramatically since then, with over 14 million people in humanitarian need, the economy in crisis, democratic gains reversed, and conflict spreading across the country. On 25 May 2020, Minneapolis Police Department officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd by kneeling on the back of his neck. On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. On 11 March 2022, Tammel Esco was caught on camera punching a 67-year-old Asian woman more than 125 times during a provoked assault. On 24 May 2022, a mass shooting occurred at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, United States, where nineteen students and two teachers were fatally shot, and seventeen others were wounded by 18-year-old Salvador Ramos. On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the right to abortion that had been upheld for decades.

Depicting a deep burgundy-hued boxing figure wearing a pair of cerulean boxing gloves, a blood-stained bandage on its nose, and a clenched-fist symbol on its body - a powerful symbol of global solidarity against oppression - and a headgear bearing the slogan "I Have a Dream," which was taken from the public speech delivered by American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. In this speech, King called for civil and economic rights and an end to racism in the United States. Delivered to over 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the speech was a defining moment of the civil rights movement and is among the most iconic speeches in American history.

The boxer in Victor & Victim suggests many layers of struggle, both on an individual and social level. Was it a victorious knockout boxing match or was it a dishonorable surrender? Uncensored and fiercely magnificent, the complexly conflicted boxer in Victor & Victim is a metaphorical self-portrait of each and everyone of us as a defiant fighter, a heroic figure, and a fearless dreamer who struggles to triumph in a world where the odds are firmly stacked against us in all forms of prevalent racial, sexual, cultural prejudices, and social injustices. Lots of people are hurting. Let us not give up the fight and make those who lost their lives matter.

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