In this series of four paintings – Violence II Diamonds, Close II the Sun (Please Don’t Clip My Wings), Is That Blood or Worcestershire Sauce on My Leather Jellabiya, and Wildin’ 4 Respect – Erizku intensifies his critique of corporate iconography and the omnipresence of luxury branding within contemporary culture. These paintings borrow logos from the firearms industry and luxury brands, integrating them with vivid layers of spray paint and acetone that obscure and transform the logos into abstract forms. His method of physically layering and partially erasing these symbols blurs the line between author and tagger, exploring the tension between personal expression and the pervasive influence of corporate branding.

These works hold both aesthetic and socio-political significance, with Erizku’s overlays disrupting the “sanctity” of these brands. They capture a conversation between corporate omnipresence and the individual artist’s trace, encouraging viewers to confront the roles of race, resistance, and capitalism embedded in the aesthetic and ideological landscape. The tension between the playful colours and the logos’ darker associations with violence and power prompts a critical examination of these symbols’ places in popular and global culture.