American Designer KAWS to Fly Hot Air Balloon Shaped Like Iconic Character

American artist KAWS’s signature character, “Companion”, will fly across the skies of several world cities as a hot-air balloon. After visiting spots like Mt. Fuji and Hong Kong, the Brooklyn-based artist is headed to Bristol and other locations.

KAWS, whose real name is Brian Donnelly, has announced plans for a world tour, in which he will visit major cities across the globe, including Australia, China, Turkey, and Spain. The official schedule has not been released yet, as it will be dictated by the demand for tickets. For a currently unknown price, groups of two or three will get to ascend in the balloon, experiencing a unique view from KAWS’s creation.

Preceding this tour, inflatable KAWS: HOLIDAY inventions have taken to water and land, so his next idea is to take his “Companion” into the air. Created in 1997, “Companion” is one of the artist’s first works. This character, which resembles Mickey Mouse with huge ears and Xs over the eyes and hands, is taking the form of an immense 42-meters sculptural balloon, available for guests to ride.

“It really will be an unexpected thing in the sky,” KAWS told CNN. “To have a work that suddenly interrupts your sightline for a few minutes, going through different cities in the world, is, for me, very exciting.”

The idea of the project was to continue exhibiting and observing art even with the COVID restrictions. Therefore, the artist wanted to create something everybody could appreciate from an open space. “I thought the balloon would be a great object to create something across a landscape that people can experience…rather than having an exhibition-type piece that everyone gathers around,” KAWS continued.

Bibliography

Holmes, H. (2021, May 18) KAWS is Taking His ‘Companion’ Hot Air Balloon Around the World Later This Year. Observer. https://observer.com/2021/05/kaws-world-tour-hot-air-balloon/

Holland, H. (2021, May 17) Gigantic KAWS hot air balloon to take flight over major world cities. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/kaws-hot-air-balloon-holiday/index.html

Silbert, J. (2021, May 16) KAWS Is Taking a Hot Air Balloon Holiday. High Snobiety. https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/kaws-holiday-hot-air-balloon-companion/