Following the opening in Dubai the Perrotin presents the exhibition of Takashi Murakami, which is taking place in ICD Brookfield Place until 28 January 2023. Takashi Murakami is a very well-known Japanese contemporary artist, who was born in Tokyo, Japan. He works in fine arts as well as commercial – fashion, animation and merchandise.
The wild popularity of his characters, especially of his famous creation DOB, probably comes from their recognisable references to the animated characters, such as the Japanese robot-cat Doraemon, Mickey Mouse and Sonic the Hedgehog. One can also notice the influence of animation, science fiction and the obsession with video games. “You can really feel the tempo of a place like Japan through its manga culture,” says Murakami.
It’s very often that Murakami’s characters are read as emotionally flat and their optimism is childlike, but it is so only on the surface. There is a darker undertone in Murakami’s art. The artist himself explained that his “Superflat” art works are a reaction to national trauma. This is a response to Japan’s post-Second World War condition due to the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, earthquakes and the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima. For example, the pointy teeth or refracted faces of his character “DOB Kaiju Monster” is definitely inspired by the Japanese kaiju, who are mysterious monsters who go out and devour people along with destroying cities and towns.
In his interview in Dubai he says: “The Japanese people have experienced a lot of natural disasters. Perhaps the [1945] atomic bomb [in Hiroshima and Nagasaki] was seen as that kind of disaster too. At the same time, we still have fear. Maybe my characters look like happiness, but in my head, it’s not necessarily that. There’s this idea hiding in the background”.
One can get more information about Murakami and the exhibition itself on its official web page. You can also learn more about the artist on his Artsy web page.
