Modern Artefacts 2 | Ryan Hawaii & Connor Kawaii

About

What happens when we consider what exists beyond our physical realm? What do we see? What do we feel? What do we encounter?

Modern Artefacts II is the second collaborative exhibition by artist brothers duo Connor Kawaii & Ryan Hawaii. 

Building on their output of Collage, drawings ,sculpture & fabric works that explore themes of spirituality, ancestry and traditions. 

Enter their uncovered temple, where works bring ideas around the spiritual world to life. 

Through the use of symbolism, the artists have created a visual language to signify complex ideas around the spiritual and the metaphysical.

Creating their own mythology, the brother’s created a series of collages representing deities paired with modern concepts such as: Success, Righteousness or War. 

The result of this was the concept “Modern Artefacts” in a society where technology and the tools we use become more and more developed at an exponential speed. We must consider some of the things we take for granted will become artefacts in the near future. The brothers lean into this idea with the ‘ancient’ aesthetic of the works, looking somehow like they were made hundreds of years ago and also yesterday. 

Hailing from South East London the brothers  took their talents from the streets into the commercial world too. Connor mixing his skateboard, collage and sculptural interests. With notable collaborations with Vans, Gucci, Dazed. Ryan’s decade long career in fashion has led him to make bespoke pieces for artists such as Skepta, Gorillaz and Dub legend Lee “Scratch” Perry to name a few. From collections stocked in Japan to Milan, his signature “Eyeman” character has been seen all over the world. 

Their Cuban-Jamaican heritage underpins the embodiment of this uncovered temple by borrowing from spatial design elements that exist within their culture.