Packaging design for Peruvian Chocolatier, Death by Xoko.
2016. Hand-cut paper on wood panels.
Hurricane Ko was the first piece in my current and ongoing series, Patient. Patient consists of a series of abstract portraits representing friends of mine who have or have had cancer. Jonathan Ko brought ease and humor with him everywhere he went. He remained the calm eye of the storm throughout his five-year cancer journey. You are missed, friend.
I love working with modular pieces and incorporating the framework of any given medium into the final piece. It would have been far easier to do this on a simple 12x12 wooden panel but where would the fun be in that?
I got the idea for Hurricane Ko after seeing how calmly Jonathan handled every part of his treatment and eventual decline. He was always there to comfort his family and friends while we tried to understand that we were going to lose this person so close to us. I sketched the original idea on a post-it note at work and expanded it into what you see here. I was able to complete the piece just prior to Jonathan’s passing and his sister told me that he enjoyed it.