Who knows how it came about. Who knows what made it seem appropriate. Who knows how many people had to say "Yes holy fuck lol good one Jeremy" to have this make it all the way to actualisation. All we know is that it's real now. A bouncing, caricature head of Kanye West—one of the world's greatest living artists—depicted as "sad", and with "resting bitch face", will be the centrepiece in the arts precinct at this year's Splendour in the Grass Festival. The installation, designed by Hungry Castle (who do a lot of great things), will invite festival goers to pop things inside the head in an effort to "cheer Kanye up"…It doesn't take an overactive imagination to consider how it might be misconstrued as insensitive: Kanye West, oft-referred to as stoic or angry or sad, was hospitalised late last year for psychiatric care after he experienced what his team called "extreme stress and exhaustion," and what "anonymous inside sources" called a breakdown—"Kanye has ups and downs, but this is much more serious," one person said, who allegedly worked in the hospital where Kanye was recovering. "In the hospital he has been very paranoid and is under constant watch for his safety."Despite the inflatable installation likely being in good fun and not intentionally cruel, it unfortunately doesn't come off well. Thinkpieces on thinkpieces on thinkpieces in recent years have considered and critiqued our culture's fascination with celebrity struggle, and how toxic that fascination can be—how we ought to support our icons and cultural figures, rather than relish in their misfortune.What we should know by now that is Kanye West is not a cartoon, despite our constant attempts to reduce him to one. To paint him like a crazed, entitled jughead with too much air time. He is an award-winning, era-defining artist, whose catalogue of work is one of the most expansive and accomplished of our time. He deserves our respect and patience as he navigates the bizarre and terrifying waters of being one of the most famous people on the planet.He doesn't deserve to be made into a 10-meter-high inflatable emoji that depicts him as a petulant child.
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