Hong Kong 2020: KAWS goes to space for COMPANION’s 20th anniversary

Since 2018, KAWS’ KAWS:HOLIDAY project has landed in Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong and Japan (you may remember the giant floating KAWS sculpture in Hong Kong Harbour), and has catapulted the renowned Brooklyn-based designer to fame.

Now, get ready as he takes on the next frontier – space.

Working again with longtime collaborator AllRightsReserved, KAWS:HOLIDAY is now taking off. Audiences from around the world can escape with COMPANION as he embarks on a journey beyond our atmosphere. Follow COMPANION’s revitalizing journey as he looks back at Earth from a new vantage point.

For KAWS:HOLIDAY SPACE, COMPANION dons an astronaut suit and takes a sounding balloon 41.5 kilometers (136,296 feet) up into the Stratosphere. After reaching super high speeds, COMPANION’s adventure culminates in a 2-hour, zero-gravity walk in uninhabited space before returning to Earth. The entire exploration process took about 8 hours from preparation for lift-off, departure to landing. It was recorded with a 360-degree panoramic video camera, capturing COMPANION’s historical moment and marking his 20th year in existence, and once again reimagining the possibilities of sculpture in art.

“So many projects have been cancelled this year. I wanted to create one that could be experienced safely from home. Because this year marks 20 years since I created COMPANION, I tried to find a way around all the restrictions and do something special. I felt so confined the past few months that creating a project like this has really given me a chance to escape.”

For more information about KAWS, visit their website here. For more on AllRightsReserved, visit their website here