He’s upright, powerful, mouth open, menacing with his teeth and beating his chest with his fists. His ferocious expression befits the majesty and strength of the animal, a reinterpretation of King Kong. In this work that’s part of the “Born Wild” series, Orlinski attempts to transform our animalistic impulses into civilized emotions and brings us to question our own animality. “So, where is the inhumanity? On the side of the animal or that of modern civilization that murders him on top of their skyscraper?”
Within the contemporary and pure style that is characteristic of him, the artist erases the primate’s anatomic details in favor of graphic and smooth facets. His proportions, idealized and modified, give Wild Kong a more massive and almost cartoonish physique. Often made in colored resin, this work that can measure between 15 centimeters and 3 meters is today available in rock crystal and metal. Richard Orlinski also made another version where the animal is brandishing an oil barrel to protect nature and attempt to put an end to the ecological plague.
Rising over the ski slopes of Courchevel among others, or at the chocolate salon where an imposing chocolate version was made, Wild Kong also finds his place in the Blue Room at Twitter’s French headquarters, inaugurated with great to-do in the presence of ex-Prime Minister Manuel Valls. Richard Orlinski also installed two of his largest gorillas on the Croisette in Cannes. The iconic Wild Kong is one of Orlinski’s most exhibited works, especially in the homes of the stars.
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