Gauntlet Gallery
What is D*Face’s piece called “Pop-Eye-Con (First Edition)”
Summary
Pop-Eye-Con is a vertically stacked, glitch-sliced mash-up of vintage American cartoon icons fused into one corrupted idol: a fragmented "D*FACE" logo and white-capped sailor head up top, Mickey Mouse's black-eared silhouette below, and a central buck-toothed, bespectacled Popeye/Donald-hybrid face whose lower jaw dissolves into D*Face's signature grinning skull, flanked by muscular sailor forearms tattooed "HATE" and "LOVE" and wrapped in "CAUTION" tape. It is a concentrated example of D*Face's habit of defacing the cherished mascots of mass culture, turning beloved childhood characters into a memento-mori commentary on celebrity and brand worship.
Why It Matters
The print distills D*Face's central preoccupation - the worship of manufactured "icons" - into a single layered figure, literally collapsing Popeye, Mickey and Donald into one composite deity that grins through a skull. By treating beloved corporate mascots as objects of an almost religious devotion ("Con" punning on icon, con-job and confidence trick), it skewers how consumer culture deifies cartoon brands the way earlier eras venerated saints. The HATE/LOVE knuckle tattoos and CAUTION-tape framing tie it to D*Face's recurring vocabulary of doomed romance, mortality and warning, making it a compact thesis statement for his Pop Provocation work.
Collector Perspective
At an edition of just 34, this sits firmly in the scarce, harder-to-source band of D*Face's screen prints, well below his larger 100-plus runs and well above his rarest hand-finished one-offs. The subject matter is strong for collectors: it bundles three of the most recognizable mascots in pop culture with the artist's hallmark skull motif, so it reads instantly as "a D*Face" and carries cross-appeal to Disney and cartoon-iconography buyers. Demand for low-edition D*Face screen prints with marquee appropriation imagery tends to be steady, though as a 2014 title without the name recognition of his Dog or lover prints it is more of a connoisseur's pick than a flagship - a solid, defensible hold rather than a speculative flip.
Historical Context
Made in 2014 during D*Face's Pop Provocation era, the work belongs to a phase in which he repeatedly cannibalized the visual language of American comics, advertising and the Golden Age of animation. The imagery references Popeye (the sailor cap, anchor tattoos and bulging forearms), Mickey Mouse (the unmistakable ear silhouette) and Donald Duck (the bill-like buck teeth), the trio of mid-century mascots that built the modern entertainment-brand empire. Layering them through a torn, mis-registered glitch composite and crowning the figure with the artist's grinning skull places it in the lineage of Pop appropriation that runs from Warhol's celebrity portraits through street art's irreverent remixing of corporate property.
FAQ
What does this D*Face print depict?
A vertically stacked, glitch-sliced composite of classic American cartoon mascots - a white-capped sailor (Popeye) head, Mickey Mouse's eared silhouette, and a central bespectacled, buck-toothed Popeye/Donald-hybrid face that dissolves into D*Face's signature grinning skull, with muscular forearms tattooed HATE and LOVE and wrapped in CAUTION tape.
How large is the edition?
The edition size is 34, making it one of the scarcer D*Face screen-print releases.
What is the medium?
It is a screen print, produced in 2014.
Is it signed and numbered?
D*Face limited-edition prints are typically hand-signed and numbered by the artist; buyers should confirm the signature and number against the certificate or the work itself for the individual example.
Who is D*Face?
D*Face is the British street artist Dean Stockton (b. 1978, London), a pop-art provocateur known for defacing comic-book, advertising and celebrity imagery with motifs like his winged-eyed D*Dog, grinning skulls and doomed comic-strip lovers, 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.