BIG MOON

BIG MOON is a collectible KAWS lamp made from vinyl and mixed media in collaboration with AllRightsReserved. It develops the moon theme of KAWS:HOLIDAY Shanghai: a huge cratered sphere looms over COMPANION, leaving the character’s head, hands and feet visible. By day it is a sculpture with an almost cartoon-like joke; in the evening, the Moon becomes a source of soft light.

From KAWS:HOLIDAY Shanghai to BIG MOON

The Shanghai stop of KAWS:HOLIDAY took place in late August 2024. A large inflatable installation appeared on the North Bund dock beside the Huangpu River: COMPANION rests while holding the Moon. The public presentation ran from 29 August to 1 September. KAWS and AllRightsReserved worked with JFJ Productions; the moon imagery referred to Mid-Autumn Festival traditions.

BIG MOON followed in September 2024. Sales were announced for 15 September at 11 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, corresponding to 16 September at 11 a.m. in Hong Kong. The lamp develops the Shanghai installation’s image but changes its proportions: the Moon is so large compared with COMPANION that the character seems pressed against the surface.

Lunar texture and light

The sphere’s texture is the main focus. Craters of different sizes remain visible without illumination; when the lamp is on, their relief creates lighter and darker areas. Beside them, COMPANION’s familiar X eyes and open palm draw attention back from the Moon to the character.

BIG MOON is battery-operated. It should be distinguished from the HOLIDAY SHANGHAI Brown, Grey and Black figures with a glow-in-the-dark moon element: this is a different object, composition and lighting function.

Edition details

Artist: KAWS — Brian Donnelly
Original name: BIG MOON
Release year: 2024
Collaboration: AllRightsReserved; release through DDT Store
Materials: vinyl and mixed media
Height according to the manufacturer: 8 inches, approximately 20.3 cm
Power: 2 AA batteries, which the manufacturer states are not included

For a collection or a gift

Brian Donnelly, known as KAWS, works with characters that move between painting, sculpture, urban installations and collectibles. BIG MOON makes that transition easy to follow: the subject of a large public work gains a new scale and becomes an object that can be placed at home.

The lamp can join a KAWS collection or be a gift for someone interested in contemporary art and object design. On a shelf or console, leave room around it so that both the lunar sphere and the small COMPANION beneath it remain visible.

Compare HOLIDAY SHANGHAI Brown, the KAWS collection at ArtComburo. More projects by the artist are available on the official KAWS website.