Sean Go's Chimeric Creatures: Imperfectly Ethereal, Opening New Paradigms

Artist Sean Go is one such artist who defies rules intentionally to convey social meanings. By simply using artistic forms and breaking expectation through art, artists can strike a point and create social impact, much like what Go performs through his rule-defying art. Discrimination against people based on how they loved, their gender, the color of their skin – all of these at some point was considered and still are in some areas considered status quo, and it is through artistic cultural revolution that these long-held beliefs can make way for more progressive ones.

For artist Sean Go, art was not always a career he could culturally afford as his business background and the stigma of creative pursuits within a business family dictated only one viable path – to be a successful businessman. Go’s path a businessman has been impressive, but his works of art command presence much more as they embody the journey of Go challenging the status quo to pursue his childhood love of the arts instead of walking a pre-ordained path. Go’s works teeter between motivational scrambled twists of chimeric cartoon creatures, fused from one childhood story with another, traversing Shrek and Star Wars lore (Darth Shrek) and combining the meek and morose in his Disney Princesses.

In iterating conscious combinations of characters who would have never crossed paths, Go’s works remind us that we only have to look within ourselves to explore our multifaceted natures and through creative curiosities, we may find our dream jobs, or unlock new keysets. Go’s heroic piglets and gigantic Pokémon represent his enjoyment in creating stories that propel characters to grow in new and unexpected ways, despite hardship and push back from external forces. In the end, Go’s works are extended metaphors on life. We often restrict ourselves to certain passed down ideals, propagated by hegemonic vehicles, ancestral perceptions, and legacy media, that we lose our ability to think for ourselves.

Go’s creations are famous for their decolonial twist. Colonialism has been a mixed bag in terms of distinct but intersecting facets which range from standards of beauty, cultural values, and socio-economic progress, and Go finds solace in creating works that are derivative works of society’s current paradigm. For Go, his Filipino Nostalgia Series and Barbie Wawas represent a power struggle between the East and the West, wherein identities, produced and innate, are critically challenged and infused with power relations that are reflections of colonial history. In Go’s work, we can see that it is important for minorities to understand that the protagonist role can be given to people of color, even if representation may be scarce. In Go’s art, the dialectical relationships between global symbols takes the first chair, as it is vital that conversations for improvement feed in art and vice versa.

For Go, having achieved so much artistically and reputationally in his 30 years alive, there is a need to go beyond himself in inspiring those we may be struggling with their choices. Ultimately, when society dictates so much of our lives, artists push back and say no, whether it is through the rebellion of their strokes or the activist meanings in their art. Go himself, is a witty capitalist critique (through Mousefather, Playmouse, Degustation Disney), grappling with questions of how such a system can be so beautiful and cruel at the same time.

Artist Sean Go’s works are well loved by collectors across the world including prominent tycoons of US industry such as the late Sam Zell and Chris Klaus, and prominent families in the Philippines including the Lucio Tan Family, Gotianun family, and more. From Go’s impressive collector base, we can see that the reception of Go’s works is stellar, with an impressive resume that spans from Asia to the USA to Europe. Some may liken him to a traveling journeyman, soon to be a master. Go’s knack for excellence is rarely seen today in a world of quick gratification and “social media intellectuals,” and it is apparent that Go will find himself at the center of art and creativity wherever he travels to. Artists have to open the door and show us the stars, and in doing so, become stars themselves.