STIK (B. 1979)

Christie’s is pleased to offer Holding Hands (Maquette) by STIK consigned to the sale by The London Borough of Hackney. Cast in a patinated bronze, this quarter sized maquette was a key part of STIK’s artistic process for the recently unveiled permanent bronze public sculpture now standing in London’s Hoxton Square, commissioned by the Council. Holding Hands depicts two figures, moving in opposite directions, each seeming to be leading the other depending on where the viewer is standing as a subtle reminder to view the world from other people’s perspectives. STIK’s figures radiate generosity and vulnerability, skilfully expressed in just a few, gestural lines. In the early 2000s STIK began creating unofficial public art in East London and the official and permanent installation of the monumental Holding Hands bronze in Hackney’s Hoxton Square represents a homecoming of sorts. For STIK, this work is a testament to hope and community, a ‘sign of universal love and solidarity’ as resonant today as it will be a century from now.