Pez Dispenser, Neon Sign Jean-Michel Basquiat

Basquiat uses the image of the crowned dinosaur to question the hierarchies of power and consumerism in modern society. By mixing the childlike with the critical, the work poses a reflection on the obsolescence of old forms of authority and how the systems that sustain them may be destined to disappear, just like the dinosaurs.

Made of a neon flex material, consisting of PVC or Silicon piping with LED lights, that is mounted on a recycled acrylic board. Equipped with a touch dimmer, it offers customizable brightness.

The flexible LED tube is safe and environmentally friendly, too! Set the light to the time of day with adjustable brightness. The materials above allow to create realistic neon signs, with bright lights and intense color, while being more durable, affordable, and sustainable than traditional neon. Sustainability is taken seriously thanks to its LED lights which consumes 6 times less energy than traditional lights, lasting up to 100,000 hours. These neon is crafted using recycled materials and 100% recycled packaging, including removing all useless plastic.

Basquiat's PEZ Dispenser fuses an everyday object from popular culture, the PEZ candy dispenser, with symbolism laden with irony and social critique. The dispenser is represented as a dinosaur with a crown, creating a reflection on power, obsolescence and consumption. The figure of the dinosaur, a symbol of extinction, together with the crown, an emblem of authority, represents a power in decline, suggesting that social and political structures could be on the verge of their demise. The title PEZ Dispenser also plays with child symbolism, alluding to an object associated with amusement and mass consumption, commonly used by children. This reference to the childlike contrasts with the seriousness of the subject that Basquiat explores, creating a duality between light consumption and criticism of the dynamics of power in contemporary society. Thus, the PEZ dispenser becomes a metaphor for systems of power and consumption.