Gauntlet Gallery
What is D*Face’s piece called “Ho Ho Oh”
Summary
"Ho Ho Oh" reworks a vintage Victorian engraving of Father Christmas, replacing Santa's jolly face with D*Face's signature grinning skull behind round, dark spectacles and crowning the figure's overflowing sack of toys with a second small skull. Rendered in fine black line-work over a cream ground with selective spot-color washes and a copperplate "Ho, ho, oh" caption, it is a characteristic example of D*Face's habit of hijacking nostalgic, sentimental source imagery to slip in his memento-mori commentary.
Why It Matters
The print distills D*Face's central method: he doesn't draw from scratch so much as deface a borrowed, instantly readable cultural image and let the small, lethal alteration do the talking. Here the warm Victorian Christmas card iconography — symbol of consumer ritual, gift-giving and manufactured cheer — is turned into a skull-faced figure, recasting the season's commercial cheer as something hollow and doomed. The "Ho ho oh" pun reframes festive laughter as a gasp of dread, a compact piece of pop subversion in line with his broader satire of consumerism and the imagery we're sold.
Collector Perspective
A 2012 screen print from the heart of D*Face's most active editioned period, "Ho Ho Oh" sits in the accessible, holiday-themed tier of his catalog rather than among his marquee large-format or hand-finished works. The skull-Santa is a clear, recognizable D*Face motif, and the Christmas hook gives it seasonal gifting appeal, but the published edition size here is unconfirmed, which matters for pricing. As a smaller-format, single-image screen print it trades at the entry level of his market; condition, full margins, and an intact pencil signature and number are the main value drivers. A solid, on-brand piece for a collector building a D*Face set rather than a blue-chip centerpiece.
Historical Context
The source image is a 19th-century wood-engraving of Father Christmas laden with toys, the kind of sentimental Victorian Christmas illustration that helped codify the modern Santa. By 2012, working from his StolenSpace base and well into what is here termed his Pop Provocation Era, D*Face was routinely appropriating exactly this sort of vintage romance and advertising imagery and grafting on his skulls and dead-eyed stares. "Ho Ho Oh" applies that template to the festive season, treating a beloved holiday figure as just another piece of commercial mythology to be defaced.
FAQ
What does this print actually depict?
A Victorian engraving of Father Christmas carrying a sack of toys, with his face replaced by D*Face's grinning skull in round dark spectacles and a second small skull peeking from the toy sack, captioned in copperplate script with the pun 'Ho, ho, oh.'
What is the medium?
A screen print, produced in 2012, with fine black line-work over a cream paper ground and selective spot color.
How large is the edition?
The edition size for this release is unconfirmed. D*Face screen prints are typically issued in limited, numbered editions, but we don't list a specific figure here to avoid stating a number that can't be verified.
Is it signed and numbered?
D*Face limited prints are typically hand-signed and numbered in pencil, usually in the lower margin. Buyers should confirm the signature and numbering on the specific example before purchase.
Who is D*Face?
D*Face is the British street artist Dean Stockton (b.1978, London), a pop-art provocateur known for defacing comic, advertising and celebrity imagery with skulls and his winged-eyed 'D*Dog,' 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.