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Johnnie Walker and Kopernick launch joint effort to save artists
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ohnnie Walker Indonesia has teamed up with local artist Bernhard Suryaningrat, better known as Hardthirteen in the art world, to create two special bottles for auction: a Black label and a Gold label as part of the Keep Walking Indonesia initiative.
The two-of-a-kind bottles were hand-painted by the artist and the proceeds will be donated to the COVID-19 Response Project courtesy of Kopernik, a Bali-based NGO. The project has been helping creative industry players survive during the pandemic, as most have lost their income. As the artist said on his Instagram, the glow in the dark bottle masterpiece was created “because we hope that our creative sector will shine again.”
An intimate dinner was held to give the first private showing of the two bottles, attended by Hardthirteen himself and art curator Windi Salomo on Monday. As guests were treated to a glass of club soda and sat around a small dinner table, a gold Johnnie Walker statue served as a centerpiece and the hand-painted bottles were passed around to showcase the uniqueness of each.
The bottles were adorned with vibrant colors, and served as a canvas, as the artist tells his story using imagery on each of the four sides. On one side, a bird portrays people who must flap their wings to get out of their comfort zone. The depiction of globes on the bottles portrays two worlds; one where he didn’t feel seen, which he calls “harderworld”, intersected with a new one, where he is acknowledged and praised for creativity. He felt that the story was also similar to the journey of Johnnie Walker as a company. Hardthirteen also points out the shift of how people saw the art of graffiti from when he first started to now.
“When we talk about graffiti, which is even smaller than street art, not many graffiti artists have been able to break in, let alone work with big brands, so I also want to prove it to my friends and the public that graffiti, which was once looked down upon, can go anywhere, when you do it as long as you're consistent,” he said.
The event on Monday was followed by another virtual launch on Thursday. It was kicked off by Dannies Hendrato, as a representative of Diageo, the parent company of the scotch whiskey brand. He told the audience that the project was a way to ask Indonesian artists to push boundaries, especially during an unprecedented time. Moreover, cofounder of Kopernik, Ewa Wolkowska, highlighted why this collaboration was very important, along with the work her company had been doing in Indonesia for the past 10 years. This is not the first time Diageo and Kopernik have joined forces, as the partnership started when they raised funds following an earthquake in Palu.
“The creative tourism industry has been hit hard in the current situation. Many have lost their livelihoods, unable to support their families and meet their financial needs. We at Kopernik always welcome collaborations like this and creative fundraising ideas to help those in need. We would like to see more active participation from within the country to support local communities. We believe that with joint efforts, we will find the right solution,” said Ewa.
“Making whiskey is an art of itself,” Dannies said when the host asked about the background of the collaboration with artists. He added, “It’s a very rare connection, to make whiskey scotch, and art”
The charity auction will be held virtually from Feb. 3 to 6 on the official Instagram account of Kick Avenue. Anyone can enter this auction by commenting on the post, starting from Feb. 3, with a minimum bid of IDR 2,000,000 for Johnnie Walker Black Label, and starting from IDR 3,000,000 for the Gold. The winners will be announced via Instagram on Feb. 7.
