I LOVE GOLD... or do I? In a world of current economic slum, it's hard to believe that gold-plated anything - toilets, sexual devices, teeth - whatever, even still exists. Better still - the always socially witty design mash-up team of Ken Courtney aka Ju$t Another Rich Kid and Tobias Wong co-created INDULGENCES - a series of gold-plated coke spoon paraphernalia. Why you ask? Why not... sure sure it's a social comment on the creation and demand of absurd unnecessary luxury items… but fuck – it’s shiny, glam and why wouldn’t you want to dip Bic pen caps and McD’s coffee stirrers in 18K gold?? If a blow fiend needs a little bit of glam while doing the chore – why not? Same reason the over-sexed housewife wants to use a 24K dildo to get her rocks off… because we ALL need a little bit of INDULGENCE in life no? Ironically so – the artist’s received a cease and desist letter from McDonald’s in 2008… only to INCREASE the hype of this item as a collector’s item – thank you big man! So despite the state of world economics – is it that everything is mediocre unless it’s over hyped and indulgent, despite how menial?
Some items can still be purchased at CITIZEN:Citizen, however the BIC Pen cap and McD's stir sticks are 'Temporarily Unavailable'.
TOBIAS WONG is a Canadian-native artist - his work is available and exhibited intenationally (Colette - Paris, Comme des Garcon - Tokyo, Art Basel - Miami...). [website]
Ken Courtney aka Ju$t Another Rich Kid is a NY-based streetwear designer and artist. "Every season a new collection is designed, using an electric mix of one-of-a-kind artist-drawn graphics, each with a hint of rebelliousness and a taste for all things pop culture..". [website]