Gauntlet Gallery
What is D*Face’s piece called “Unity - Suck Face Twist”
Summary
A screen print depicting D*Face's signature doomed comic-strip lovers: a bespectacled, mustachioed man pulls a blue-haired blonde woman into a kiss, the pair wrapped and bound together by a swirling, multicolored ribbon of red, purple and blue brushstroke-like bands. Rendered in flat pop-art ink lines over a Lichtenstein-style halftone dot field, "Unity - Suck Face Twist" (2021) extends D*Face's long-running practice of hijacking mid-century romance-comic imagery to needle ideas of love, fate and consumer fantasy.
Why It Matters
D*Face built his reputation by defacing and re-authoring the visual language of post-war advertising and romance comics, and this print sits squarely in that lineage. The embrace reads as tender, but the ribbon coiling around the couple turns the moment ambivalent — binding, swirling, almost constricting — which is exactly the tension D*Face exploits: idealized love sold as a comic-book panel, undercut by something more fraught. The halftone dots and bold ink contours deliberately echo Roy Lichtenstein, placing the work in a Pop-appropriation tradition while the title's blunt "Suck Face" slang pulls it back to street-level irreverence.
Collector Perspective
With an edition of 85, this is a relatively tight run for D*Face and well below his larger open or 150-plus print editions, which supports scarcity at the secondary level. The doomed-lovers motif is one of his most recognizable and consistently collected subjects — more sought-after than his looser experimental work, though it does not command the premiums of his rarer hand-finished or large-format pieces. Expect steady, mid-tier demand among UK and street-art-focused buyers; condition, margins and an intact signature/numbering will drive realized prices more than the image alone.
Historical Context
Produced in 2021, the print belongs to D*Face's mature Contemporary-era output, by which point his comic-romance vocabulary was fully established. The imagery directly references 1950s-60s American romance comics and the Pop reinterpretations of Lichtenstein, filtered through D*Face's habit of "defacing" mass-media nostalgia. The swirling ribbon device and the slang title reflect his ongoing interest in subverting sentimental, commercially packaged depictions of love rather than simply reproducing them.
FAQ
What does this print depict?
A comic-strip-style couple — a bespectacled, mustachioed man and a blue-haired blonde woman — locked in a kiss while a swirling red, purple and blue ribbon coils around and binds them, set against a halftone dot background in D*Face's pop-art style.
How large is the edition?
The edition size is 85.
What medium is it?
It is a screen print (silkscreen).
Is it signed and numbered?
D*Face limited-edition prints are typically hand-signed and numbered by the artist, though specific signature and numbering details for this example should be confirmed against the actual piece and its documentation.
Who is D*Face?
D*Face is British street artist Dean Stockton (b. 1978, London), a pop-art provocateur known for defacing comic-romance, advertising and celebrity imagery, his winged-eyed 'D*Dog' and grinning-skull motifs, and for co-founding the StolenSpace gallery.
Related Works
About the Artist
D*Face is the working name of Dean Stockton (b. 1978, London), a leading figure in British street art. He came up pasting stickers and posters across London in the early 2000s, then built a pop-fuelled visual language that defaces comic-book romance, advertising and celebrity iconography. Recurring motifs include his winged-eyed D*Dog, grinning skulls and doomed comic-strip lovers. His practice spans screenprints, hand-painted multiples, sculpture and large-scale murals worldwide, and he co-founded the StolenSpace gallery in London. His work satirises consumerism, power and our collective obsession with fame.
Collecting D*Face at Gauntlet Gallery
Where can I buy authentic D*Face prints?
Gauntlet Gallery offers an extensive, authenticated inventory of D*Face prints and contemporary editions, with new drops added regularly. Browse the current collection at gauntlet.gallery.
How does Gauntlet Gallery ensure authenticity?
Gauntlet Gallery is built on curation, authenticity and transparency — every work is vetted and its provenance, edition details and condition are disclosed up front.
Does Gauntlet Gallery add new D*Face prints?
Yes. New drops are released regularly across D*Face and other leading artists; see gauntlet.gallery for the latest inventory.