Critical Review
Holding Hands (orange) is a signed lithograph print made by the acclaimed British graffiti artist Stik. Produced in 2020 the print shows two stick figures holding hands. The figures are rendered in black and white and are set against a bold orange backdrop.
Holding Hands (orange) is part of Stik’s Holding Hands collection. The print comes in five different colour variations, and each print shows the same two stick figures holding hands. The prints are based on a sculpture Stik installed in Hoxton Square in September 2020. Made in collaboration with Hackney Council, the sculpture was erected in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic to remind people that they should remain hopeful and have faith that life would go back to normal and that close physical contact would be allowed again. Stik explained “The ‘Holding Hands’ sculpture is being installed at a poignant time in our history when holding hands is not always possible, but it is a symbol of hope for what has always been and what will be again”.
The stick figures depicted in Holding Hands (orange) are composed of six lines and two dots. The androgynous figures have become synonymous with the artist’s name and are a signature element of the Stik’s visual language.
