Johnny Depp
In December, Johnny released his seminal four part limited edition series The Bunnyman Genesis.
The collection casts the silhouette of a bunny-human hybrid against vibrant backgrounds ranging from impasto oil paints and gold leaf to contrasting colour blocks and erratic mark-making.
The series includes pieces called: Origins, Cosmic, Flowers and Multiverse,- each name corresponding with the alternate backgrounds underscoring The Bunnyman's outline. Perceived as comforting rather than harrowing by Johnny, The Bunnyman character initially materialised in his dreams before haunting the sleep of his five-year-old son Jack (who is now 21) decades later. Struck by the memory, Jack penned the outline we now see immortalised on the canvas. “There he was, a benevolent creature, [appearing] as if to warn me in my dream,” says Johnny.
Flowers alludes to the character's metaphysical origins by situating the character in an abstract meadow of poppies (a flower often associated with sleep). Meticulously painted with loom-like brushstrokes, the dreamscape transforms the imaginary realms of the subconscious into a fleshy multiverse.
Hand-signed by the artist and embossed with a miniature of The Bunnyman, the figure is a totem of strength, and an extension of Johnny as well as his inseparable friend. Like all great urban legends or dark fairy tales, the myth of The Bunnyman has evolved over time through countless retellings; spooling together supernatural threads and assigning mystical properties.
The Bunnyman’s uncanny nature takes prescience in Cosmic; a celestial composition where he looms large against galaxies like a guardian "powerfully standing with a sword of truth," says Johnny. The piece embodies the adventurous spirit that the artist is known and loved for by millions of fans but more than that, it's a call to action for onlookers to embrace their internal maverick.
While Johnny is universally exalted for his imaginative storytelling, his artistic reputation and ardour for iconic painters like Amadeo Modigliani and Jean-Michel Basquiat are less known. It's only in the last three years that the artist has publicly alluded to his portfolio of more than 500 works. Authored over his lifetime, each piece provided an escape from everyday life, and The Bunnyman Genesis collection- some of which are composed of Rizla papers, and others, with thick layers of spray paint.
