K

21

Home

Collection

Uniswap

Docs

FAQ

K

21

Home

Collection

Uniswap

Docs

FAQ

K

K21

Bikini Bottom
Filip Hodas

11/21

Filip Hodas

Bikini Bottom
Filip Hodas
In Filip Hodas’s Bikini Bottom, the iconic and beloved cartoon character SpongeBob is represented as a washed-up relic under a bridge at an empty canal, sitting there alone, left as rusty and old, exuding an underlying melancholy that children would be oblivious to. SpongeBob’s jolly face and happy expression betray the dire situation, juxtaposing emotions that Hodas compares to the parable of the American movie star: the fast-paced world of the business, where fandom quickly forgets their idols, and consumerism and hype culture prevail. Everything and everybody will be forgotten and will be gone, rotting for good. Bikini Bottom is the most iconic work of the Pop Culture Dystopia series, in which Hodas illustrates the resting places of obsolete pop-culture icons. Though abject in their decrepitude and strewn, rejected, in landscapes of urban or suburban decay, these ubiquitous figures show signs of benign neglect—like favorite teddy bears that have been loved into oblivion and left on bedroom shelves as their owners inevitably matured. Hodas pictures a future anterior in which our cartoon heroes are martyred into reality, like Velveteen Rabbits who live (and die) according to the passions of popular culture.
Created2018
Dimensions
Filip Hodas (b.1992) is a 3D artist whose elaborate, detailed renderings balance on the edge between reality and fiction. He is best known for his series Pop Culture Dystopia, which envisions decaying pop-culture icons in desolate and abandoned, post-apocalyptic landscapes, reflecting a physical world on the brink of collapse. In 2015 Hodas started a daily render project exploring new 3D workflows and 4D technologies that lasted for almost 400 days and generated a rapidly increasing online audience. He has since grown to be one of the most-followed 3D artists on social media. His work has been presented at several exhibition venues across Europe, including Tate Modern. Hodas has extended his practice into collaborative and interdisciplinary projects with artists such as the composer, performer and producer Jean-Michel Jarre. Hodas lives and works in Prague.