UNDERCOVER Founder Jun Takahashi on Making Art, Not Clothes
Jun Takahashi is most famous for founding Japanese fashion labek UNDERCOVER but he's also an accomplished artist. Though he specializes in tactile mediums like drawing and paiting, Takahashi's far-reaching skillset is fully on display in the multimedia exhibition Peaceable Kingdom, hosted by WKM Gallery until December 14.
This marked not only Takahashi's first standalone show in Hong Kong but also his biggest to date, displaying a vast assortment of work that includes some of his bronze sculptures.
Takahashi's artistic oeuvre is as gracefully dreamy as his acclaimed UNDERCOVER collections, emphasizing beautifully surreal illustrations that're remarkably approachable.
A beautiful, rich palette informs Takahashi's softly realistic renderings of human faces and alien creatures, set amidst ornately vacant backgrounds. The results are gently striking, just far-enough removed from convention to surprise. They're also laden with deeper intent, as the artist explained to us in a rare interview.
Further, longtime fans of Takahashi's work will recognize several signatures, including references to the UNDERCOVER Gilapple toy and several characters that've long appeared in collections, because the past remains extant even in Takahashi's new creative future.
Highsnobiety: Can you describe your creative process when transitioning from fashion design to creating art? What similarities and differences do you find?
Jun Takahashi: The biggest difference is teamwork — creating clothing requires teamwork. It’s not possible without it. Paintings are, fundamentally, created entirely by myself. [That process] is already completely different.
Does that mean that art as a medium allows you more creative freedom to express yourself?
I wouldn’t say it’s to that level yet, but I would like to be at that point where I can be more free when I draw. I still have some limitations. Though, I would say in comparison to design, I do have more freedom.
What are your current limitations?
Well, I work by determining motifs, or creating with that sort of overarching idea. But perhaps to be able to create something that is constantly changing without the need to always think about those things is the true meaning of being “free”
How has using art as a medium allowed you to express ideas that you couldn't explore in fashion?
In the end, clothing is determined by the shape of the human body. If it’s a jacket or a t-shirt, it has sleeves, and you are designing the details within that framework. In the case of a painting, when creating within a canvas where anything is possible, I can express whatever I want. The freedom that it gives me is completely different.
How do your cultural background and personal experiences shape your artistic identity?
In the case of paintings, [the works] really stem from the emotions I’m feeling at the time, the tensions, and the things I’ve been thinking about — it’s a direct expression of those. In fashion, I try to express those emotions as well, but it’s more difficult. It’s easier in art, that’s the difference.
Do you feel more freedom in art, compared to before?
Art and fashion are different because they express different things. Fashion is all about designing clothing but it’s also determined by the person wearing the garment. Art is a different genre [medium]. Either way, I think I am able to express myself with both, however art allows for… how to put it, more emotions. Stronger emotions.
Thinking back to your first fashion show in 1994 — the liberating feeling of producing your first show and throwing everything out there — now as an artist, does it feel the same as back then?
The feelings are similar. There was passion. Back then, when I started preparing for my first show, I had great passion or fervor, and that was what gave me power. I think art requires that same passion. Without it I don’t think I can create anything.
What is the significance of the exhibit's title, "Peaceable Kingdom?"
Like with this painting [gestures to artwork], the head is composed of yin and yang, as with all things in the world. The differing opinions on what is “good” or “bad” are what causes strife or wars. That’s my belief. By painting these dichotomies, I hope to portray the harmony that can be achieved through understanding and acceptance. That is something that I really wanted to express while creating my paintings. “Peaceful Kingdom” is a lyric, and I try to express this in my works as well.
Many of your subjects have their eyes removed. What is the creative reasoning behind this choice, and what does it signify?
I want to stimulate people’s imaginations, and to that end, the lack of eyes will force people to think more, and that’s what I’m aiming for. For example, like that work with the eyes, the eyes itself express a predetermined tension or emotion. Though it might not be clear, you recognize that, and when that happens, you end up narrowing your perspective of the piece. So for me, without drawing eyes, viewers are allowed a lot more room to interpret.
Okay. So as to not dictate the viewers, but give them freedom to interpret?
Like with art and music. There are lyrics in music, and depending on the person, time, and emotions, it can be interpreted differently by the listener. With art, the minute you look at it you try to understand it and imagine the circumstances of it. That’s [what I find] most fun — that there’s no answer.
That’s very interesting. A lot of your previous works have been influenced by punk, and in the last decade or so it has veered towards “But Beautiful,” a jazz song, without lyrics. Does this also express your creative journey, how in the beginning there are more frameworks you were working within (like in punk), and now more relaxed? And art being the ultimate freedom to allow viewers to interpret your works?
Punk has a strong image, but in reality, I don’t think viewers will make the connection and say “this is punk”. I think art is more about personal analysis, how the answer to “what is this painting about” reveals itself. It’s better to not have an explanation at all.
You've created sculptures such as the different iterations of GRACE in the past. How does working with bronze change your approach to sculptural forms?
I’ve always wanted to make something with bronze, and for last year’s exhibition I got to try my hand at it for the first time. GRACE is a shape that I’m familiar with, a form I’m familiar with, so I thought it would be good to recreate it in bronze.
Can you share the story behind Gilapple and its significance and evolution in your body of work?
Gilapple appears once in this exhibition. But in the apples here, it could represent puberty, or it could be seen as GRACE’s egg, food or something else entirely — other people could have other interpretations. With this painting, it’s an existence that is balancing or controlling atop a world in chaos, like a guilty pleasure that distracts you from what is really happening.
And so the apple as a symbol has always evolved in a way, in your art.
The motif for this exhibition gives the idea that the apples appear as a sweet contrast amongst a chaotic world.
Throughout your career, you've navigated the balance between beauty and turmoil. Where do you find yourself leaning more at this moment, or is it always shifting?
It’s always been a mix. That is how I want to be, and I don’t think there is one that I am leaning towards. For example, even if I’ve created something incredibly beautiful, there is bound to be something that’s not in there. I’m thinking about what to add to it to maintain the original balance of the garment and what to add or subtract from it. So my answer to that is… it depends on the thing I’m working on.
Is there a medium that you haven't yet explored but would like to?
I want to try ceramics… well, a lot of different things.
