Johnnie Walker x Hardthirteen Takes Graffiti Art to the Next Level with Latest Collaboration

Johnnie Walker collaborates with the acclaimed Indonesian illustrator, Hardthirteen, to push boundaries in expressing and presenting artistic experiences.

As one of the world’s best-selling scotch whiskey, Johnnie Walker continues its 200-year legacy of continuing to live the spirit of pushing boundaries by inspirational figures who takes the meaning of ‘keep walking’ to life. Johnnie Walker yet again celebrates the spirit of pushing boundaries with the introduction of The Walkers edition, a collection in collaboration with Hardthirteen.

“Johnnie Walker puts innovation at the forefront of bringing out new ways and creating a modern experience for consumers to enjoy our scotch whisky. With the spirit of continuing to innovate, this year we introduce The Walkers, the personification of passion and courage to challenge old habits and push through blurred boundaries, a spirit that is in the DNA of Johnnie Walker in his journey of two centuries,” said Marketing Manager Diageo Indonesia for the Whiskey Portfolio, Dannies Hendrato.

To bring this spirit to life, Johnnie Walker invites individuals who embody the same spirit. Thus, Hardthirteen was chosen as the person to do this collaboration, someone who is widely known as an artist who always pushes boundaries in expressing his works. For this collaboration, Johnnie Walker and Hardthirteen challenged themselves to break away from the traditional graffiti art of using canvas and walls but instead use the iconic Johnnie Walker bottle as the medium of work.

Johnnie-Walker-x-Hardthirteen-(1) — The Walkers Edition

Johnnie-Walker-x-Hardthirteen-(6) — The Walkers Edition

“This is the first time we challenge local artists to collaborate in interpreting the spirit of pushing boundaries. Hardthirteen took up this challenge and he pushed the boundaries to be creative on bottles and other media. His work is the result of a collaboration for the first time that can be enjoyed by drink lovers in the form of bottles and merchandise for The Walkers Edition,” added Dannies.

Johnnie Walker is optimistic that this collaboration can take local Indonesian works to new heights and inspire everyone to have the spirit of The Walkers and the power to push boundaries and produce great works like The Walkers Edition.

Hardthirteen is well-regarded as an illustrator who continually breaks traditional habits to express and translate his works into new mediums, not only on canvas or walls. These values shown in his character and his works make him the perfect choice as the first ‘Walker’. Hadthirteen’s works are inspired by graffiti art and are increasingly recognised after President Joko Widodo wore a denim jacket with graffiti elements by himself and his partners at the Nevertoolavish custom design studio. His works appear consistently as an honest expression of the illustrator and continue to thrive in building positive perceptions and making graffiti art a part of Indonesian culture and art.

The Johnnie Walker x Hardthirteen collaboration is poured into The Walkers edition on 120 bottles of Johnnie Walker Black Label and Johnnie Walker Gold Label. Consumers can also get the Johnnie Walker x Hardthirteen collaboration in exclusive The Walkers edition merchandise including long-sleeved shirts and hats. Hardthirteen’s illustrations on Johnnie Walker Black Label and Johnnie Walker Gold Label express a dynamic boundary-pushing spirit combined with the classic Johnnie Walker tradition, creating an exploratory art collection. The illustration designs are created using vibrant colours with meaningful symbols. Hardthirteen welcomes his collaboration with Johnnie Walker as a great opportunity.

“I am very excited to be involved in this collaboration which is a manifestation of my desire to appear with world brands, especially with such an iconic brand as Johnnie Walker. What I really appreciate is that our collaboration is based on the same spirit and value, namely ‘pushing boundaries.’ In this collaboration. I can express my creativity and the ‘who’. This collaboration is also a new chapter in the journey of street culture and how local Indonesian works come together with global brands. I hope this work can inspire more people to continue working and go beyond existing boundaries,” said Hardthirteen.

The launch event for The Walkers edition of Johnnie Walker and Hardthirteen was streamed virtually on Friday, September 24, 2021, on the USS Feed YouTube channel. During the launch event, Johnnie Walker also invited Hardthirteen to a talk session about the spirit of building proud local works and featured a special performance by local talent, Ariel Nayaka.