King Baby

Hand-carved rubber stamp and ink on french paper, 2”x3”, open edition, 2023

A continuation of the artist’s fascination with public facing type, experiments in iteration, replication and duplication, and her obsession with her cat. Three years ago, Ruby first encountered the phrase “KING BABY”, which can be seen tagged all over New York City. She was immediately compelled by the title’s strength, and decided to dub her cat (who is officially named Nico) King Baby — often shortened to the more simple and elegant “Baby”. Prince of her heart, king of her family, and a titan amongst mere mortals, the cat’s face and title appear in many of her print demos and tests. The artist would like to make clear that she takes no ownership of the phrase or its origin, and only seeks to spread the delight it has given her. The real King Baby remains cherished in anonymity.