Gorilla 04 / study Painting

Happiness is just one possession away In this collection, Koscos and Lize Vandenbreeden confront those who are lost in consumerism, seeking happiness through possessions. The subjects are portrayed as apes because they have yet to develop sufficient intelligence to determine by themselves what they really need to be happy. They blindly accumulate possessions in response to the influence of marketing and advertising. The ambiguous but colourful inanimate objects are metaphors for the useless items that they have acquired. Far from being frivolous, as these images may at first appear, ‘Gorillas’ raises deep questions about how we produce and consume sustainable for a better future. Koscos is a Sri Lankan born Artist & Creative Director based in Hong Kong. Lize Vandenbreeden is a Fashion Illustrator and Concept Designer from Brussels. This collaboration was born in Hong Kong, where Koscos and Vandenbreeden first decided to start an intercontinental creative studio between their two cities. Consumerism has been a recurring focus of attention for artists for many decades: Warhol, Haring, Hamilton, Koons, Hirst and Banksy have in turn explored and parodied modern society’s preoccupation with the acquisition of consumer goods. Koscos: “The growing influence of social and digital media has only exacerbated a trend towards buying stuff that we don’t need. I share the view that Art has an opportunity, a responsibility even, to push us to think and improve ourselves as a society.” Vandenbreeden: “By allowing the messages we receive through our mobile phones and computers to convince us that life should be about accumulating more possessions to boost our social status, we have lost sight of what truly makes us happy.”