Critical Review
Holding Hands (blue) is a signed lithograph print made by the renowned British graffiti artist Stik. Produced in 2020 the print shows two stick figures holding hands. Rendered in black and white using six simple lines and two circular shapes for the figure’s head and body, Stik sets the drawing against a bright, blue backdrop.
Stik is known for his iconic stick figures. The artist began drawing stick figures as a young child and has not deviated from this pared back style of drawing. While the two figures are strikingly simple, the print is very emotive as a sense of anxiety and apprehension permeates the image. The two figures are captured holding hands, however they are looking away in opposite directions, as if anticipating being separated from one another. Even the figures’ knees are pointing in opposite directions.
Holding Hands (blue) is one of five prints in Stik’s Holding Hands collection. Each print shows the same two androgynous figures set against a different coloured background. The prints were based on a sculpture Stik installed in Hoxton Square in September 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Made in collaboration with Hackney Council, the sculpture which showed a scene of close physical contact served as a beacon of hope for passersby who hoped life would soon return to normal.
