The Artistic References Of Squid Game

The Korean TV drama series is known for its brutality, but it contains some hidden gems that reveal a more creative side to the directors. In fact, Squid Game is packed with artistic references that only art lovers will be able to spot. We unveil four of these in this post.

1. The Scream by Edvard Munch

When he painted his iconic piece, Norwegian painter Edvard Munch had no idea how popular it would become. This painting established itself as the most famous expressionist piece of art you can find, which explains how it could have influenced Korean directors into including in his TV series.

2. The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago

In a spectacular scene of Squid Game, you can see a character entering a room where a gigantic triangle table is set. While it will not ring any bell to people not familiar with Judy Chicago, her fans will be pleased to see that the feminist artist hasn’t been forgotten. Her art installation “The Dinner Party” was a key art piece to the American feminist movement in the middle of the 20th Century.

3. Relativity by M.C. Escher

Relativity, a 1953 lithograph by M.C. Escher, displays little care for gravity with its characters walking on stairs that go in every direction. The Dutch artist’s artwork has a very “Inception-like” look-and-feel that probably seduced the Korean directors of Squid Games who shamelessly copied it in a very colorful manner.

4. Surrealist Ball by Marie-Hélène de Rotschild

While the surrealist ball of 1972, a heavily-mediatized social event for rich people, was not exactly an artwork, it makes sense to call it an artistic reference, due to the artistic nature of the masks displayed that day. Squid Game paid a subtle tribute to the event.