Basquiat's giant dinosaur heralds Year of the Dragon
Contemporary artist Jean-Michel Basquiat's iconic crown-wearing dinosaur has appeared in Shanghai as a giant art installation to celebrate the upcoming Year of the Dragon.
Basquiat (1960-1988) was a trailblazer of the 1970s and 1980s New York art scene. He created Pez Dispenser, as the dinosaur is called, in 1984. It's a typical Basquiat work which nicely blends elements of street art with Neo-expressionist style.
A 15-meter-high Pez Dispenser now stands on the north square of the HKRI Taikoo Hui mall, surrounded by neon lights designed in the shape of 35 of Basquiat's popular works.
![Basquiat's giant dinosaur heralds Year of the Dragon](https://obj.shine.cn/files/2023/12/18/3e92cb15-4369-403e-81af-95077b86e602_0.jpg?x-image-process=style/style-watermark)
The 15-meter-high crown-wearing dinosaur installation.
More than just an installation, it allows people to get into the dinosaur to become part of the public art. People can press crown-shaped buttons to control the neon lights.
The mall is also adorned with wooden boxes painted with 33 of Basquiat's works.
A pop-up store provides limited editions of related products.
![Basquiat's giant dinosaur heralds Year of the Dragon](https://obj.shine.cn/files/2023/12/18/506b6324-6b11-4e4c-a81a-74d637473116_0.jpg?x-image-process=style/style-watermark)
A pop-up store provides limited editions of related products.
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