Smoosh Big, 2024

JOHNNY ROMEO

High Brow, 2024

acrylic and oil on canvas

410 x 410 mm

Witness Salvador Dali as you never have seen before, as a living Technicolour canvas for sportswear giant Nike. A cheeky nod to the legendary Surrealist’s forays into advertising, Smoosh Big portrays Dali staring inquisitively at the audience, his upward-curled moustache replaced with the Nike Swoosh positioned back to front. Romeo places the letter ‘h’ horizontally in the painting, humorously suggesting that it was knocked over by the Nike Swoosh. Shifting from ‘Swoosh Big’ to ‘Smoosh Big, Romeo comments on his own creative process as an artistic ‘smoosher’ who mashes together elements of Pop culture. In this spirit, the painting reminds us to not be afraid of mashing together unconventional ideas to dream big.