Message in a bottle

Message in a bottle

Brazilian twins and street artists Os Gemeos hook up with cognac house Hennessy

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Message in a bottle

‘We grew up playing in the streets and learned a lot from those days. We began creating our own world and started painting to escape from the city and its daily stress. You never know what will happen next. We had to learn to live in this environment.”

Thai artist Alex Face’s graffiti in Harajuku.

Twin brothers Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo have come a long way from that. Better known as Os Gemeos (Portuguese for “The Twins”), the Brazilian street artists are admired for their pensive, intense-yet-genteel characters and penchant for subtle social and political criticism through their art. The duo credited growing up in Sao Paulo and Brazilian tradition as major sources of inspiration. First introduced to international audiences in an article in the influential street art-focused online magazine 12oz Prophet, their works have since appeared in galleries such as the Tate Modern in London and The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.

The twins have been painting since 1987, influenced by the hip hop culture invading Sao Paulo at the time. Over the years, they have graduated from graffiti artists to international exhibitionists, whose wide range of work includes murals, frescoes, sculptures and mixed media installations. Os Gemeos’ creations also feature in logos for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games 2016.

Identical twin brothers Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo are Os Gemeos, a famed street and graffiti art duo from Brazil.

Now Os Gemeos has taken up a new challenge. Following successful collaborations with artists KAWS in 2012 and Futura last year, which sent collectors worldwide scrambling, Hennessy V.S has launched a limited edition bottle designed by the brothers.

The launch event, which was combined with Hennessy Artistry, the cognac house’s music platform, took place in Tokyo last month.

“It was actually Futura who recommended Os Gemeos to us. We’re very happy to work with them this year. Os Gemeos is a cultural ambassador of Brazil, and with the World Cup this year in Brazil we feel especially excited. They have been very creative in all the works they’ve done,” said June Miyachi, marketing director of Moet Hennessy Diageo Japan.

For the project, Os Gemeos visited the brand’s refinery in Cognac, France, where they took notice of the craftsmanship, roots, heritage and the sense of place with which they could very much relate. The pair was especially inspired by the hues of the eaux-de-vie which are blended to make the cognac.

“We love experimenting. This project represented a new medium for us — one where we could change the tradition into something contemporary, colourful and magical,” they said. Thailand’s veteran graffiti and street artist, Alex Face, was also invited to take part in the launch. A long-time admirer of Os Gemeos, he said the duo’s characters have certain depth and that they devise difficult techniques not usually seen in graffiti art. Alex Face is known for his bunny-girl character, Madee, who was inspired by his young daughter. Alex has also left his mark in Japan when he painted around Design Festa Gallery in the Harajuku district.

To confirm its place in music marketing, Hennessey Artistry also presented collaborations between musical artists on the launch night at Sound Museum Vision in Shibuya. The first set was by Los Angeles hip hop duo N.A.S.A. and Japan’s premium rapper Zen-La-Rock. Brazilian rapper Karol Conka also took the stage with beats provided by N.A.S.A. Deejay, rapper and multi-instrumentalist Madlib took the crowd deeper into their musical journey, incorporating afro-jazz, purist hip hop and obscure Latin sounds, with help from Japan’s Masadua on live drums and synthesisers.

The night continued as Hennessy opened the venue’s door to the public. Shorage, Mitsu The Beats and Muro took to the decks, home-grown talents who did Japan proud. N.A.S.A. and Madlib also graced the stage for a second time, this time with a full set which left the crowd swooning.

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