While non-Star Wars fans may be sick of hearing about the longstanding sci-fi saga, we just had to share Hong Kong artist Tik Ka’s paintings of the beloved characters from his collection “Chinese Star Pot”.
Influenced by traditional Chinese art and complete with the artist’s signature “baby face” look, the prints are equal parts unique and adorable – licentious old Hutts become frogs, lightsabers become poles of bamboo, and astromech droids become household objects.
Chinese Star Pot features some of the franchise’s most iconic characters like Yoda, Han Solo, Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker, as well as one-off characters like Darth Maul and fresh faces like Rey and BB-8. The collection features some 14 paintings, five of which we have included below as a sample of Tik Ka’s playful but beautifully rendered work:
While we love all of the paintings, we feel Tik Ka’s portrayal of Darth Maul works particularly well; in the artist’s traditional Chinese and Japanese influenced style, the character’s trademark red-and-black Rorschachian face pattern resembles a red mask from Peking opera.
While Yoda is instantly recognisable even after receiving his fair share of the Tik Ka treatment, the wise green Jedi master is pictured holding a Chinese scroll saying “The Force” on it, lest we have any doubt about his identity.
This depiction of Chewbacca (Chewie to his friends, which we wish we were) makes the Wookiee appear almost like a guardian lion… you know, those toothy statues that people plonk in front of banks.
Han Solo’s identity, on the other hand, is slightly less obvious at first glance – or at least until you realise that his signature vest has become a wispy, dark cloud-like thing. We don’t know exactly why Leia has been shrunk quite so much; we’re all for a Solo/Chewie bromance, but Leia is nobody’s side chick.
Speaking of bromances – while the actors who play C-3PO and R2-D2 may have a contentious relationship, the two characters are presented as harmoniously as ever; although the “Chinese painting” aesthetic reduces poor Artoo to a vase, and Threepio to a cherubic golden baby.
The Imperial Stormtroopers are reimagined as monk-like figures with chubby cheeks, draped in white robes instead of clunky armour. Their pallor and artful atire almost make them appear like Buddhas carved out of quivering tofu… or maybe we’re just hungry.
The rest of Tik Ka’s paintings from the Chinese Star Pot collection can be viewed here. Unfortunately, while the artworks were made into some of the coolest lai see fung (or Chinese New Year envelopes) we’d ever seen, the deadline for ordering them from Tik Ka’s Hong Kong gallery has apparently passed.
We’re sorry, guys. We missed the boat on that one. The good news is, prints from the exhibition are still available for purchase – and let’s face it, you were never going to hand all of those limited edition, beautifully crafted envelopes out to unappreciative family members anyway.
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