Mr Doodle (b.1994)
Mad Happy(Painted in 2018)
Acrylic on canvas
20.3 × 20.3 cm. 7 1/2 × 7 1/2 in.
Signed in English and dated on the reverse label
This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued and signed by the artist
In the name of Doodle, Paintings Weird and Wonderful
A Feast of Graffiti from Mr Doodle
The intense eye-catching graffiti paintings of 28-year-old UK graffiti artist Sam Cox have placed him at forefront of a new art trend and made him a modern star in the world of art. Since 2018, Cox has produced work under the name Mr Doodle, actively sharing his daily creations on Instagram while attracting 2.7 million fans and selling pieces at major art fairs to be collected by art lovers around the world.
As a child, Cox loved to draw graffiti on electrical appliances and the ceiling of his family home, viewing the surfaces of objects as vehicles for creation. In 2017, he took part in a marathon “50-hour creation” event in London and Hong Kong, which introduced people in the East and West to his doodle art. The following year, Cox held a large scale solo exhibition involving more than 700 works titled Doodle World at ARA Art Center in Seoul, South Korea. In 2019, the artist held Doodle Tokyo at the Anzai Gallery in Tokyo, which made him an overnight sensation. In recent years, Mr Doodle has worked with UK MTV, Samsung Electronics and Fendi, and last year produced his first NFT work, gradually building a “Doodle World” with global appeal, while holding exhibitions that boldly showcase his belief that art deserves to exist and the path of rebellion.
Multicoloured Rainbow - Dreamland
“For me, when I am painting I cannot think too much, I have to let my hands move how they want so the characters and visual images jump naturally onto the paper ... My hope is that creating is a happy process and the works exude a sense of joy.”
――Mr Doodle
Visitors to the Doodle World solo exhibition at ARA Art Center in Seoul in 2018 were greeted by a huge rainbow wall made up of doodle graffiti works in seven different colours. Using the colours of the rainbow as a backdrop Mr Doodle painted 405 small pieces to create a large “Rainbow” installation that was 4.5m high and 8.1m in length. Within this composite piece, each painting was like a rainbow crystal, with the seven colours representing different life states, fully expressing the power of imagination.
During that exhibition, Rainbow#122 (Lot 114) and Rainbow#123 (Lot 113) were positioned one directly above the other. The former has an emerald green background and contains several lively looking small characters, including a flying carrot with wings, a snail with eyes on its antenna and to the right the beak of a little chick. Above that we can see the tentacles of an octopus and all around the work different living organisms pop in and look around curiously as they stare back at the audience. Rainbow#123 was contiguous to this work but is framed in a more simple and elegant shade of green, continuing the joyous expression of the first piece.
Mr Doodle has said in interviews that he was deeply influenced by the godfather of graffiti Keith Haring. Indeed, as a child the characters he saw in comic books and computer game images were all stored in his head as source material and many make an appearance whenever he paints. For example, in the centre of this work is a little lion that looks as if it stepped straight of a cartoon and seems to be observing the world, while in the lower right part of the piece is an image from the oeuvre of Haring, shaking its limbs wildly and ingeniously connected to the head of the figure below. It is almost an abstract expression of an EEG, and from here upwards we encounter boundless imagination. The two paintings magnify and present one corner of a much bigger world, encouraging people to have the courage to explore and express themselves. Within the freedom offered by his imagination Cox creates an artistic rainbow-shaped bridge that transports viewers to a land of joy.
Breaking the Rules of Art, Re-imagining Imagination
In contrast to the brightly coloured rainbow world, the works Burn the House (Lot 116) and Rotten Devils (Lot 115) are comprised of white lines against a black background, creating a bold and fantastic black world on which the artist signs the name of an alternative persona “Dr Scribble,” thereby undermining one of the habits of traditional painting. All the overlapping emotions of life – sorrow and joy, grief and happiness, love and hate, can be found in the black graffiti world of Dr Scribble, as if another plane of existence viewed by the artist. These showcase the powerful, unrestrained and rule-breaking nature of imagination from a visual perspective imbued with character.
Raging Flames, Freeze-Framing the Symphony of Life
Burn the House is one of Dr Scribble's most narrative-oriented classic paintings. At the centre of the work is a small tiled building engulfed by raging flames. Through repeated overlay the artist used the dynamic and layered flames to highlight the main scene, while the raindrops in the sky and the unquenchable fire establish a clear contrast that strengthens the sense of urgency. Moreover, the people inside the building appear as phantoms or demons and are screaming to be saved, while the fireman to the right of the work raises a ladder as he comes to their rescue. At the same time, flowers and trees, turtles and small snakes are imbued with a human-like spirit and display expressions of worry and concern. The painting is akin to a musical symphony conducted with a paint brush and comprising the thunderous roar of the flames, the fizzling spray of the water hoses, the cries of the residents and the whispering of flora and fauna. With no interweaving of internal and external scenes, the single most thrilling moment is captured and its focus on real society, tragedy, human nature and the true feelings of life flow from each brush stroke, completing the real emotional meaning of graffiti art.
Abyss Wonderland, Taking the Stage
In the work Rotten Devils the artist used lines imbued with a sense of distortion to boldly showcase the graffiti style and evil identity of Dr Scribble. He ingeniously selected a vertical canvas and painted flowing whirling lines to highlight the extreme dynamism of his graffiti work. In the painting there are four main figures, one upright, one lying on its side and a third upside down waving their long extended arms, as if four emissaries from the depths of Hell, leading cohorts of little demons, each one flaunting its nature. The large eyes and raised eyebrows, alert civet cat, snarling exposed teeth, and what seems like a wild dog madly barking, are all incarnations from boundless graffiti fantasy. It is within this maze-like abyss of a world that the demons take the stage, exuding great physical strength, courage and vibrant energy as they display their extraordinary ability and compete to be king of the world.
Transmitting the Dynamic Signal of Love by Emotional Colour
In Mad Happy(Lot 110) and Cycle of Sadness(Lot 111), Mr Doodle vividly conveys the distinct state of different emotions with his unique “one-stroke” technique and exciting composition. For example, just as the title described, Mad Happy shows several grinning little monsters. Different line combinations constitute a continuous profusion of smiles surrounding the protagonists in the middle. Two happy main characters respectively dyed red and yellow colours, which interpret the mood of ecstasy. In Cycle of Sadness, the artist used the unique “spiral composition” and developed the emotion into a progressive presentation. One end of the line starts from the bottom, and it connects the confused eyes, the sad mouths and the broken hearts in the spiral. Finally, it becomes a squatting and crying puppy. Blue dots, a symbol of melancholy, interweave to create a loop of visual pursuit.
However, whether joyful or sad, love and true feelings are eternal in Mr Doodle's paintings. Heart Pink#1(Lot 112) chooses a combination of bright pink and vibrant yellow colours to celebrate the sweet and colourful “love”. A heart-shaped little character is holding up hands in the centre, just like calling for love in the centre of the world. Influenced by him, little characters who express their love come to form a big pink heart and send the heartbeat signal of love in their own way: In the lower-left corner, a couple of radios are looking at each other sweetly, generating electricity for love; the little snail is crawling while spreading love words; the robot in operation hangs a love symbol; the sunflower is opening a big smiling face. In Mr Doodle's graffiti, the tremendous power of love inflected all life, and it shone with “the ultimate love declaration”.
Mr Doodle (b.1994)
狂喜(二〇一八年作)
壓克力彩 畫布
20.3 × 20.3 cm. 7 1/2 × 7 1/2 in.
款識
MAD HAPPY MR DOODLE! （畫背簽）
附：藝術家開立及親簽之作品證書
以Doodle之名，繪天下怪奇絢爛
Mr Doodle的塗鴉盛宴
站在時下新藝術浪潮的最前沿，現年28歲的塗鴉藝術家考克斯（Sam Cox），憑藉令人炫目的密集塗鴉創作，一躍成為當今藝壇炙手可熱的明星。自2018年起，他以Mr Doodle之名，在以社交媒體為主流的千禧時代，積極於IG分享每日創作心得，以鮮活的故事人物、無窮的想象力走入人心，不僅獲數量可觀的藝術擁躉，IG粉絲高近270萬人，作品於各大藝博會上一售而空，受海內外藏家青睞。
童年時便熱衷在家中電器、天花板塗鴉的Mr Doodle，視一切物體表面為創作載體，無論是地下隧道還是繁華商場，無一不可畫。2017年起，他參與倫敦、香港兩地馬拉松式「50小時創作」，令Doodle式塗鴉走進東西觀眾的視線，隔年攜700餘件作品在首爾ARA藝術中心舉辦「Doodle World」大型個展，2019年又在日本安西美術館舉辦「Doodle東京」展，使其一舉成名。而他近年更與英國MTV、三星電子、Fendi跨界合作，去年並發表首件NFT作品，逐步在全球建立其獨一無二的塗鴉樂園「Doodle World」。是次呈現的兩件繽紛之作《彩虹#122》（拍品編號114）、《彩虹#123》（拍品編號113），為Mr Doodle迄今最大型的裝置《彩虹塗鴉》裡上下相連的兩作，曾於「Doodle World」大展中首現。而《燃燒的房子》（拍品編號116）、《墮落魔鬼》（拍品編號115）則為其獲熱烈反響的張力之作，以其2016年別出心裁創造的雙重人格Dr Scribble作為創作者署名，一展反叛有道、藝術有理的個性理念。
斑斕彩虹，夢幻聯動
「對我而言，繪畫在創作的同時，也不能過分思考，應任由雙手發揮，令角色和視覺圖像自然而然地躍然紙上……我希望創作是一個快樂的過程，作品可以散發愉悅的氣息。」
――Mr Doodle
走進2018年ARA藝術中心舉辦的「Doodle World」個展現場，迎接觀眾的是一面由七彩塗鴉畫作組成巨大的彩虹牆，Mr Doodle以赤橙黃綠青藍紫的七色作為背景，以405件小型作品，組成了高4.5米總長8.1米的大型《彩虹》裝置。在這一組作品中，他充分展現了個人想象勃發的繽紛之力。每一幀畫面如同一片彩虹晶體，色彩代表了不同的生命情態，共同匯聚成一道絢麗的彩虹。當Mr Doodle手持畫筆揮灑畫布，每一隅的彩虹中便生長出繽紛歡欣的小生命，揚起笑臉，留下趣味盎然的動能。
《彩虹#122》與《彩虹#123》在展出時正巧為上下相連之作，前者以鮮明的翠綠為底色，當中浮現數隻自想象而生的躍雀小角色，若是張開翅膀似在飛翔的胡蘿蔔，或是觸角上長著眼睛的蝸牛，連向右側的是小雞的尖嘴、上方伸展著章魚的觸角，從四面八方皆有不同的小生物正探頭探腦，帶著幾分好奇，望向觀眾。而與之相接的《彩虹#123》則以淡雅的青色調鋪展，延續上一方畫面的歡樂景象，作品以更具幾何線條動態的方式，描繪豐富各異的生命形象。Mr Doodle曾坦言深受塗鴉教父哈林（Keith Haring）影響，幼時漫畫中所見的動物、人物，以及電玩遊戲的形象，皆成為其腦海中的素材庫，在創作時紛紛湧現。如見此作中央，一隻如自卡通片中化身而來的小獅，正探頭觀察著世間，右下側則刻畫了如同哈林筆下人物四肢盡情揮舞的形象，並別出心裁地與其下的角色腦袋連接，仿若腦電圖的抽象表達，由此向上，生發出無窮無盡的想象。兩作如同將萬千世界的一隅，放大置於眼前，生機與活力紛然並現，鼓勵著世人勇於探索、大膽表達，在想象的自由中架起通往歡樂的藝術虹橋。
藝術破格，狂想再造
「畫畫和創造自己的世界，是一件很有趣的事情。」
――Mr Doodle
迵異於Mr Doodle繽紛的《彩虹》世界，《燃燒的房子》、《墮落魔鬼》兩作則以黑底白彩的形式，創造了一處大膽狂想的黑色天地，描繪著世界的另一面貌。作品並以其第二人格「Dr Scribble」署名，顛覆傳統繪畫的慣常概念，引人一探究竟。
據藝術家自言：「Dr Scribble是我用左手作畫的孿生兄弟，他的塗鴉方式和我的相似，也會覆蓋任何東西，裡面的人物卻並非友好或歡笑」，早在2016年的首次個展「Attention Seeker」中，他便創造了Dr Scribble的角色，並於2017年起以此名義在IG上獨立發表創作。在Dr Scribble的創作中，真實人生中所交織的悲喜、哀樂、愛恨，全然呈現在他黑色塗鴉的世界中，Dr Scribble彷彿是藝術家觀看世界的另一法面，透過他的所見所感，為觀眾打開了世界的全貌，以充滿個性的視角呈現想像的天馬行空與破格有理。
烈焰騰空，定格生命的交響
《燃燒的房子》為Dr Scribble創作中具高度敘事性的經典畫作，以一棟正被熊熊烈火吞噬的房屋作為核心，透過誇張而活靈活現的信筆塗鴉，豐富展現各方角色的神情姿態，為畫中故事渲染著緊張危險的氣息，引人入勝。在畫面中心，藝術家以充滿動感的層層火焰紋包圍磚瓦搭建的小屋，藉由重複疊加的方式，突出了主體情景的內容，天空中的點狀雨滴與澆不滅的大火形成鮮明對比，強化了畫面的緊迫感。而屋中的居民則如同魅影般，正高呼求助，每一扇窗戶背後本是不同的生命樣貌，此刻卻被打破了平靜的生活，一致望向窗外，焦灼等待救助。而在屋外，右側的消防人員正搭雲梯救火，更多的支援正自左邊駛來，花草樹木似有靈性般，露出憂心忡忡的神情，聞訊而來的烏龜、小蛇等各類生命皆伸長脖頸，為突來的意外表達擔憂和關心。作品如同以畫筆演奏的一曲交響，火焰的咆哮、水槍的噴滋、居民的呼喊、動植物們的竊竊私語皆囊括其中，高歌著水火不容的衝擊、屋內外情境的激烈對照，在紛繁的交織中，將最為關鍵的時刻定格，而其對真實社會、悲劇及人性的關懷、生命的真情真態自連動的筆觸中流淌而出，在多重的互動、想像與創造中，完整了塗鴉藝術的鮮活意義。
深淵奇境，你方唱罷我登場
而在《墮落魔鬼》中，藝術家則以充滿扭動感的線條，更為大膽地表明Dr Scribble的塗鴉風格和邪惡身份。他在此別出心裁地選用一款豎形畫布，作為Dr Scribble發揮狂想的領地。契合畫作的形狀，畫中的四位主角亦具長型身影，以流動迴旋的曲線，展示著極具動態感的塗鴉之筆。其身體仿若可自如伸縮，分別以直立、側身、倒立的姿勢揮舞著長展的雙臂，並未因空間狹窄而顯現半分拘束，而在畫中世界自如遨遊，盡現本性的狂放不羈。四位主角如同來自地獄的四大使者，自上而下分佈黑色空間之中，率領著一眾小鬼，不問來路、只尋歸處，各自展示著本性的張揚。無論是豎眉瞋目、警覺如靈貓，還是咧嘴齜牙、狂吠似野犬，更或者是那Mr Doodle式的神奇小生物，皆由無限的塗鴉幻想化身而來，在迷宮般的深淵世界裡，你方唱罷我登場，以孔武有力的姿態、生機勃勃的能量展示著與眾不同的本領，是魔鬼亦是世界之王！
情感色彩，發射愛的動感信號
對Mr Doodle而言，喜怒哀樂、七情六慾，皆是其筆下生命的本質源泉，畫中角色之喜之悲，皆為真情真意，流露本心，色彩為情感而生、線條因想象而舞，共同詠唱他真實的情感密碼。
在《狂喜》（拍品編號110）、《悲傷的循環》（拍品編號111）中，Mr Doodle將單一的情緒放大，以其獨門的「一筆畫」技巧和趣味構圖，生動傳遞鮮明情感的不同狀態，直擊人心。如題之所述，《狂喜》描繪一眾露齒大笑的小怪獸，不同的線條組合構成連續的繽紛笑顏，包圍著身處正中的主角，而他們，各因喜上眉梢、情緒高漲，分別染上象徵著喜悅的紅、黃色彩，詮釋狂喜下的情感。而《悲傷的循環》，則經由獨特的「螺旋式構圖」，將情感衍化為一種遞進呈現，線條一端由底部出發，先形成一隻張開的手掌，在盤旋中，連接起迷茫的雙眼、傷心的嘴角、破碎的心，最後變為一隻蹲坐哭泣的小狗。象徵憂鬱的藍色點染交織，塑造視覺追引，紛雜中愈見個性，在漩渦中持續情感的循環。
而無論歡欣還是傷感，大寫的愛與真情卻是Mr Doodle畫中的永恆。《粉色的心#1》（拍品編號112）一作選用柔美鮮妍的粉與活力四射的黃彩作為組合，大聲歌唱來自「愛」的甜蜜與繽紛。只見正中央，心型小人正高舉雙手，跳躍地捧著一顆揮動翅膀的愛心，若在世界的中心呼喚愛。在他的感召下，表達愛的小人物們紛至沓來，裹挾在心型空間裡，依循輪廓排開，共同構成一個大大的粉色之心。與之同時，四面八方的鮮活生命齊齊湧入，以各自的方式傳遞愛的心動訊號：左下角，一對情侶收音機正甜蜜對視、為愛發電，天線上端放射強烈的吸引信號，宣告愛情的幸福誕生，緩緩爬行的小蝸牛預備將愛的話語傳遞，於是，操作中的機器人將愛心符號掛在胸前，太陽花張開大大的笑臉，散播歡樂的氣息。愛的奇異力量感染了所有的生命，萬般形象皆擁有愛的符碼。在Mr Doodle的塗鴉天地中，湧動、閃耀著「愛的終極宣言」。
時至今日，Mr Doodle每天以不同的方式，向世界展示著他悉心打造的塗鴉藝術王國，他用七彩繪寫生命千姿，藉由黑白高歌世間百態，他以Doodle之名，詮釋真我、解讀生命，在塗鴉藝術的想像天地裡，帶領我們遍覽天下光彩。
