Rik Lee on the simple bond between friends

wearable art collab

Rik Lee x Kevin (10)

Australian artist Rik Lee collabed with 10-year-old Kevin from the SDN 004 Mentarang school in Pulau Sapi. Kevin loves his friends and the quality time spent with them. That’s why, when it comes to friendship, he immediately thinks of the small moments shared between friends, like camping trips in the forest.

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wearable art collabs

Kevin (10)

Pulau Sapi, Indonesia

Kevin is a 10-year-old pupil at SDN 004 Mentarang, living in the small town of Pulau Sapi in North Kalimantan. Kevin loves to spend time with his friends. When given the theme of friendship, his mind doesn’t go to specific people, but to fond memories. That’s why he depicted a camping trip under the stars with his friend.

Rik Lee

Melbourne, Australia

Rik is an Australian artist who has lived in Indonesia for 15 years. Skateboard culture has had a huge influence on his art growing up. Nowadays, inspiration comes from all around, which is also evident in his diverse art styles. His vibrant works have caught the eye of brands like American Express, Virgin Australia, Ray Ban, Air New Zealand, and Vice.

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The simple bond between friends

For his drawing, Kevin (10) was given the theme of ‘friendship’. With this theme, we wanted to get an idea of what friendship means to him and how he would visualise it. Kevin didn’t draw a specific person, but rather focussed on a shared memory: a camping trip in the pine forest. This showed us that friendship is all about quality time for Kevin.

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Making art together with Kevin

When it came to making the final illustration, Rik didn’t want to reinvent the wheel. It was only a matter of adding his signature style to Kevin’s concept. “I felt no need to complicate things and therefore chose to work in a simple style too, adding the bold shapes and bright colours that regularly feature in my art.”

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A moment of simple joy

“I feel like Kevin perfectly captured a moment of simple joy shared by friends. Personally, it’s experiences like this that form my fondest memories and I’d say Kevin is expressing a warm memory through his drawing.”

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Rik’s collab with Kevin

“I was excited. Firstly, I love the idea! Secondly, I always enjoy projects that involve working with kids and celebrating the unparalleled creativity of youth. Face This particularly resonated with me because I’ve lived in Indonesia for 15 years, so working alongside underprivileged Indonesian youth is something close to my home and my heart.”

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