Year: 2022
Medium: acrylic, wood panel, acrylic plate, comic book cutouts
Dimensions: 145.5 x 112 x 3.6 cm (57 1/4 x 44 x 1 3/8 in.)
Acquired from Art Front Gallery, 2022
In this work, Kaneko attempts various references. The first surface of the multilayered structure is an open panel with a meaning window and the word “XYXY”. Behind the window, there is a collage of famous comics which is easily recognizable, even if they are in fragments. This duality is the most noteworthy part of this work. “Monsters” drawn as characters always appear in Kaneko's works. The monster is composed of collections of numerous cartoon-like depictions. And while each of the parts generate a sense of déjà vu, the originals are hard to identify. The essences of different characters that belong to a certain category are carefully selected and reconstructed by Kaneko’s hand as an original expression still retaining their characteristic flavor. In the background, there is a collage of several untouched comic book fragments. The contrast of these two on the same surface is very ambitious. As we, the viewers, peek into this collage through the meaningful window, we are swallowed by Kaneko’s “likeness” atmosphere. This is probably an intentional induction of thought by Kaneko, who has positioned the darkness of the information society as the subject. This is a trap.
