Shohei Otomo’s ‘Fool’s Paradise’

(C) Shohei Otomo

Cyberpunk, graphic illustrator Shohei Otomo confronts the contradictions of contemporary Japan with nothing but his talent and a one dollar ballpoint pen. An internationally recognised artist, Shohei was born in 1980, part of the ‘zero zero generation’ coming of age in the 2000s, the economic and aspiration-less desert of ‘post no future’ Japan, now further devastated by the tsunami and the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster.

Son of the legendary Katsuhiro Otomo, the prolific author and illustrator who has influenced much of Japanese and international contemporary culture with visionary works such as Akira, Shohei’s work takes his father’s legacy into the next generation.

Combining the global connectedness of his generation with Japanese cultural traditions, Shohei’s work is at the cusp of Western conceptualism and Japanese aesthetics and mastery of technique. In a rare opportunity for Shohei’s first-time Australian audience, a number of original works will be available in large sized limited edition prints.

The world of cyberpunk is supposedly set in a post-Armageddon future.Shohei’s works send a chilling reminder that the future is upon us.

(C) Shohei Otomo

‘Hakuchi Land’ – Fool’s Paradise

The hero image chosen for this show by graphic illustrator and artist Shohei Otomo confronts us directly with the consequences of living in a fool’s paradise. The tsunami-caused disaster of Fukushima is a loud and continuing wake-up call that paradise comes at a cost and the toll master is unforgiving. Created with a one dollar ballpoint pen and Shohei’s unmistakeable creative and conceptual genius, the breathtaking detail of the work immediately engages out attention and admiration, there is no mistaking the messages of this foreboding figure. 

Shohei’s work is political, stark and uncompromising in its strident comments on contemporary Japanese culture, Familiar and beloved symbols of Japan’s much admired traditional culture cavort with icons of the contemporary age, a tense, dark melange that is nonetheless beautiful. The images are distinctly Japanese yet the conformity of globalisation renders them intimately recognisable.

Described sometimes as a cyberpunk artist, Shohei’s work straddles the worlds of illustration, art, anime and punk. In a rare interview in English, Shoheu cities the cinematic influences of samurai movies – such as Kurosawa’s renowned Seven Samurai – and spaghetti Westerns, as significant.

Shohei’s work abounds with symbols, some familiar, others less so. Beyond the visual world he so masterfully creates, lies a hidden world of discovery.

(C) Shohei Otomo

Opening Night 
Friday 7th September 6pm – 8pm

Exhibition runs from 5th – 28th September 2012

Lesley Kehoe Galleries
Ground Floor, 101 Collins St, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Monday – Friday 11am – 6pm
Saturday 12pm – 4pm
www.kehoe.com.au