Singapore court orders halt to display of Kaws’ Companion, giant inflatable sculpture, at ‘Kaws: Holiday’ event

An injunction was served at the unveiling of a 42-metre-long inflatable created by celebrity artist Kaws for a two-week, government-sponsored spectacle

The organiser of the sculpture’s display, Hong Kong agency AllRightsReserved Limited, is accused of breaching confidentiality and intellectual property rights

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Tugs tow the 37-metre-long Companion inflatable sculpture through Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour in March 2019 for a Kaws: Holiday event in the city. An injunction was served at the unveiling of a similar display of Companion in Singapore. Photo: EPA

Published: 6:33pm, 13 Nov 2021Updated: 7:28pm, 13 Nov 2021

Rarely has there been a case of holiday blues of such monumental proportions.

On Saturday, a large group of VIPs in Singapore were attending the official unveiling of a 42-metre-long inflatable outdoor sculpture, Companion, created by celebrity artist Kaws as part of a two-week, government-sponsored spectacle called “Kaws: Holiday”.

But at 4.30pm, a court injunction ordering both the immediate suspension of the artwork’s display and the accompanying sale of merchandise was delivered to the event’s Hong Kong organisers at “The Float at Marina Bay” floating platform.

All this attention would be enough to give any public artwork an inflated sense of its own importance, even if it were not the pair of half-clown, half-Mickey Mouse sculptures that the American artist – real name Brian Donnelly – has already turned into a global pop-culture icon.

A 42-metre-long version of the inflatable sculpture Companion, with the figure holding a miniature version of itself, by American artist Brian Donnelly (Kaws) at “Kaws: Holiday” at The Float@Marina Bay in Singapore. Photo: Facebook/AllRightsReserved Limited

According to a copy of the court order issued on Thursday and seen by the Post, the project organised by AllRightsReserved Limited (ARR), a creative agency founded by Hongkonger Lam Shu-kam – or SK Lam as he is often known – has been accused by The Ryan Foundation, a Singapore non-profit organisation, of breaching confidentiality and intellectual property rights.

Neither Donnelly nor the Singapore Tourism Board, which backs the outdoor exhibition, are parties to the lawsuit.