@utanhole turning tragedy into beauty

How has living in Tokyo influenced your way of thinking and working within art world?

Tokyo is full of iconic locations, so I never run out of motifs. For instance, I’ve painted the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in the past, and I’m currently working on Hamarikyu Gardens.

These places are not only visually captivating but also carry multi-layered histories. For me, Tokyo provides motifs that add depth to my paintings and evoke a wide range of associations for the viewer.

You turned many catastrophic scenes into intimate moments. Are these caused by the thoughts of the figures？

I paint with the conscious effort not to force a linear message or trigger a purely reflexive reaction to gruesome imagery.

That might be why they appear the way they do. It’s my intention for the audience to receive a paradoxical message — or even multiple layers of meaning. And

ultimately, I believe that is simply what reality is like.

Who are the figures you’re portraying? Are they recurring characters, archetypes, friends,

…?

They are something like archetypes.

What is it about the generational urge to set the world on fire?

Does our generation really possess that kind of passion? I do wish we did. But I don’t think that passion should be reduced to just another run-of-the-mill tale of rebellion.

How do you balance the sedative, dreamy & soft color-palette with the sometimes

violent or sexually charged content?

I find it very suggestive that those who witnessed the pillar of light during the Chernobyl disaster found it so beautiful.

Even if many people feel that today’s world is at its worst, it’s not something entirely blood-stained like a horror movie; it is simultaneously something very beautiful. That is exactly how I want to paint.

What’s something you would want someone else to think or feel when seeing your work?

I want my work to be a place where one can feel the strength within themselves

‘Photos of recent works: courtesy of

Kaikai Kiki Gallery’