WAXPACKS
Thousands of drawings to order and hoard
Each waxpack contains three handmade cards, encased in clear plastic protectors. One card is a unique drawing, while the other two are letter cards, each with a single uppercase letter from the English alphabet rendered upon it. The backs of the cards are inscribed, stamped, and numbered.
Individual waxpacks, as well a boxes of five waxpacks, are available for purchase in the SHOP. Examples of actuals cards contained in the waxpacks follow below, along with some frequently asked questions.
Do you sell individual cards?
Not really. Doing so is more trouble than it's worth and undermines the happy sense of unknowing that waxpacks are meant to stimulate. The artist will sell individual letter cards (including letters outside the English alphabet) to assist collectors, but such cards will be clearly marked on the back, "SOLD AS SINGLE CARD."
I have a "Series 2016" waxpack, does that mean all the cards inside were made that year?
No. The series date only indicates that the cards were bundled before the first waxpack of any series year subsequent. Moreover, the artist periodically sets aside cards for inclusion in future series, so there's a chance any given waxpack might include cards made years apart.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why cards?
A: Sylvanus began making cards at the age of nine, inspired by Garbage Pail Kids, baseball cards, and Bikkuriman Devil vs. Angel seals. Small drawings have factored heavily in the artist's practice ever since.
A: Cards are a great place to experiment; to do things that would be impractical, superficial, or confusing at a larger scale; to wear other hats, other masks, other artists; to document artistic endeavors in miniature, multiplicable ways.
A: Picasso made over 12,000 drawings. Klee produced over 10,000 works; Warhol over 8,000. There are over 4,750 manuscript pages by Leonardo. Sylvanus has a sick need to make more than that—sick in the highly communicable, pandemic sense.
Should I open my purchased waxpacks or leave them sealed?
Either way (imagining with delight both the connoisseur's collection of individual cards and the stockpiler's vault of hermetic packs).
Do the cards have individual titles?
No. The random(ish) word on the back of each card is an authenticator, which corresponds to the card's serial number. It is there to discourage counterfeit cards and is NOT a title. That said, collectors are encouraged to create their own titles using letter cards in their possession while maligning the artist for his defective magnetic poetry.
How should I maintain and display the cards I've collected?
However you want: in a frame or a dumpster, in groups or stacks, in unopened packs inside a time capsule, or something else, or not at all.
Is there really a tattooed card composed of the artist's flayed skin?
The artist insists there is no such card.