GIGANTIC

What happens when your work becomes bigger than you? For Brian Donnelly, aka Kaws, it means that he’s on the right track.

- Wayne Cheong

With Covid, the world went into lockdown. We were sequestered indoors as a way to stem the spread of the virus. Communication was relegated to video calls and our outlet to the world was through our laptop screens.

So when something like Kaws:Holiday chose Singapore as the seventh spot to host a giant inflatable Companion—a bulbous, skull-headed figure with Xed-out eyes and attired in Mickey Mouse’s iconic pants, shoes and four-fingered gloves—it almost felt like a reason to head out.

The guy behind Companion, Brian Donnelly—or as he’s better known, Kaws—was in town to do press. We had a scheduled one-on-one with him but Donnelly was whisked away for a sudden Antigen Rapid Test. This ate into his interview schedule. So now our oneon-one turned into a three-way with me, another journalist and Donnelly.

Held in a room at the grandstands of The Float @ Marina Bay, through the window you can see Companion reclined on the floating platform. Even if you have no inkling what Companion is about, you’ll still be awed by the sight of it. The onlookers—stray runners, a family, hobbyist photographers—gawk at and take photos of the installation. There’s a buzzing in the air as drones sweep through the sky, trying to contain Companion within their view.

Donnelly sits with a slight hunch. He’s unassuming and soft-spoken. Words such as ‘like’ and ‘you know’ pepper his speech (for this piece, these fillers are marched out into an open field, shot and buried in shallow unmarked graves). His outfit is a uniform: always dressed in a brandless one-tone top, jeans and a snapback. Usually in black, this is his default look. Remove the cap or dress him in bright hues and he might be unrecognisable.