After so many years of viewing the seemingly shiny, happy, ubiquitous iconography of Takashi Murakami’s splashy canvases and figurines in the white-walled confines of private art galleries, or the stature of Louis Vuitton’s Fondation in Paris, it’s somewhat remarkable to be made to reappraise one’s relationship to the work by the artist’s expansive, ambitious and intimate show, Murakami vs Murakami at Tai Kwun Contemporary, developed in tandem with curator, Tobias Berger, which opens tomorrow, June 1.

And where the surrounds in one of the vast rooms bear the distressed, splattered black and grey hues of gloom and doom. Murakami feels as though he has channelled the peeling, sabotaged walls lining the back alleys of nearby and aesthetically gentrifying yet atrophying old-Sheung Wan, and invoked their ’ruin porn’ as backdrop. Such huge scale, yet poignant local intimacy, brings new perspective to the panglossian palettes of his inanely smiling flowers and endless anime-style characters and 'emojiggery'. It’s the dark side, a darker avant-grade, or de-mojification; Murakami as contemporary Munch Scream, simultaneously delineating the agony and ecstasy of aesthetic creation, and of life, or living, itself. Are the flowers smiling at all, in fact, or last-gasp laughing as panacea to the excruciating pain of existence. There’s always a punchline with Murakami.

What lends this show inestimable value over price are the insights; Murakami’s thoughts about contemporary art, creating icons, working with Berger and Tai Kwun, are posted around the rooms, thus aiding and abetting our understanding of what we see, and helping us discover and decipher Murakami’s mind - and strategic positioning - in relation to the art world. There is a room filled with work Murakami has collected from other artists - an eclectic gallimaufry from Julian Schnabel and Andy Warhol to Yuan Yuan and Tohl Narita (creator of Ultraman).

There’s even fashion. Or outfits after a fashion, shown for the first time at exhibition anywhere in the world. Murakami has created mannequins especially for this project (versions of himself) and adorned them with “kaburimono” (whimsical headwear) and zany, cosplay-esque regalia. It’s almost anti-fashion, unwearable except as a bet, and may be another inimitable Murakami punchline as reaction to the rarefied world of contemporary art.

Whatever the raison d’etre, the show is the best possible remedy for those who thought they knew - and often dislike - much of Murakami’s so-called 'superflat' work. Celebratory, challenging and super-dimensional, Murakami vs Murakami makes for full-on Murakamifcation, but is ultimately about You vs You as viewer.

MURAKAMI IN HIS OWN WORDS

WHAT IS CONTEMPORARY ART?

I think the appreciation of contemporary art is an experience that has gone mainstream only over the past 20 years or so, because there didn’t used to be so many museums specialising in contemporary art around the world. In my recollection, in the past, one had to visit specific museums or events in the United States or Europe to see contemporary art. But these days, there are a number of museums popping up not only in all the major cities in the world, but also in regional towns as part of economic revitalisation. As a result, it has become possible to casually experience contemporary art, and in return its audience base has been spreading. 

There is a wide range of works available, from easily enjoyable to those that resist deciphering. When I was in high school, I think films used to satisfy my desire for something abstruse. There was a theatre specialising in esoteric films, and I would frequent the establishment on dates or with friends, enjoying the subsequent change of opinions.

Nowadays, things may have shifted so that people go to contemporary art museums to see video art and art films. In fact, I think artworks in general are increasingly abstruse, whether they are paintings or sculptures. So even as contemporary art has become more casual and approachable to a larger audience, the artistic expressions themselves still contain a lot of complexity: I think you could say that it is a genre that appreciates such profoundest. On the one hand, art strives for constancy but the mode of expression is ever-changing along with the needs of time. In the past, painting may have been subsidiary to religious architecture or a means for the wealthy to memorialise that would be replaced by photography: such transitions are self-evident.

So what about my exhibition is contemporary? I myself would say that it’s the nature of my work, wherein at first glance it seems plain and simple yet it contains the inner workings that touch the essence of art. That is, I believe my work visually explores the stupidity and a sense of guilt that we human beings are currently experiencing through simplistic anime-style imagery.

On the surface my work may give a happy impression, filled with countless smiling flowers or anime-style characters; if you notice the darkness on the underside of my work, however, I think you will find the heightened contrast of expressions that is at the base of what makes an artwork powerful and enduring. If you just unthinkingly look at my work, you will only see a happy world. But if you are willing to take on the complicated task of deciphering it, I think you will come to notice my multi-layered messages.

So, after you have read this text, please look back on the exhibition you have just traversed. You might now recognise a slight disconnect from the impression you might have had upon entering the show. And if you now revisit and look at each work, you might discover a piece of the puzzle in each. That, I think, is the true thrill of contemporary art appreciation.

ICONOGRAPHY

Is it possible to create an icon that holds as art? This theme was the reason why I started making Mr. Dob. I wanted to verify the “survival secret”, or universality, of cute characters such as Mickey Mouse, Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog, Doreamon, Miffy, Hello Kitty, etc, while crossbreeding it with the universality of artists that have managed to survive in art history, such as Cezanne, Duchamp, Warhol, Picasso, etc . Executing and analysing this idea was my initial purpose for the DOB project.

TAI KWUN | HERZOG & de MEURON

Was it two years ago that I first visited Tai Kwun Contemporary at the invitation of Curator Tobias Berger? I was so excited that the building was designed by my absolute favourite architects, Herzog & de Meuron; even at first glance, both the exterior and the interior were superb!

The exterior is a repetition of abstract forms made of several types of carved aluminium. The interior is organised to deftly guide the flow of visitors and the exhibition space on the top floor has such a sense of openness that you can’t help wanting to place large-scale works in it. The best thing about the building is that the concrete of the internal staircase is hand-chiselled all over in detail, giving it a marvellous texture. The creativity of the architecture directly appealed not only to my five senses but to the sixth, making me want to aspire to the heigh of artistry. I hope you would come along on a journey through my brain across time and space found in these contrasts.

Images: ISBN