Piece of the Freak: ‘Leap of Faith’ by Budi Satria Kwan

This Piece of the Week (or as we’re calling it this month Piece of the Freak) is the perfect companion to our freaky and fun Halloween content. Redbubble artist Budi Satria Kwan has taken us on quite the terrifying trip as this van tries to escape a horde of shambling, brain-thirsty zombies over a ravine while one brave soul tries to pick off a few of those beasts (with a rocket launcher!) on the way. There’s not a dull moment in “Leap of Faith,” so fasten your seatbelt and let’s all cross our fingers and toes that we make it to the other side.

Budi has employed what I see as a huge signature style of his, the use of silhouetting and negative space to create depth and perspective. The entire artwork is framed in an all-encasing blackness, which makes for a visually stunning void we can fall right into as viewers. This shifting perspective, which resembles a vertical hole or well, is really a large window frame into a completely wild, fast-paced world.

The painterly strokes and marbling effect of the sky are amplified by the black pieces of debris scattering off the cliff. Budi has created a moment of pure suspension, just as there is a wonderful silence after a firework (or a zombie skull) has exploded in the night sky, the moment this van has hurled itself off a cliff is one of fleeting and momentary grace.

For it’s beautiful use of negative space, horror style, and a wildly imaginative zombie scenario that could easily fit into The Walking Dead, “Leap of Faith” is our creepy and chilling Piece of the Week.