3 days ago
How Yoshitomo Nara's moody kids conquered the art world
Yoshitomo Nara's children don't seem very happy. The 65-year-old Japanese artist has been painting them since adolescence: small bodies with big heads, soft cheeks and hard stares. What are they thinking, these little ones? Their fixed expressions are less likely to suggest innocence than malice – or misery.
Sometimes a slogan in English, daubed by Nara onto an otherwise plain background, might offer a clue. 'Stop the Bombs,' says one, above a scrappy figure who eye-balls the viewer furiously, two small fangs emerging from the corners of her downturned mouth. 'Don't Waste Another Day,' implores another, over a kneeling figure, her legs tucked beneath her in supplicatory seiza pose.
Whatever it means, during the past few decades, Nara's cartoonish art has become serious business: in 2019, Knife Behind Back, a characteristic work of a scowling green-eyed girl in a red dress, sold at auction for £20 million. This summer, the Hayward Gallery, in London, is staging Nara's biggest European exhibition to date. Here, the artist introduces eight artworks, from the 150 that will be on show, which chart the evolution of his now unmistakable style.
With Horses? 1984
This early work is from my fourth year as a student at Aichi University of the Arts. I began doodling on an envelope I happened to have at hand and liked the way the coloured pencils appeared against the tone of the paper, so I ended up drawing several pieces. This was a brand-new envelope, but later when I was studying abroad in Germany, I started drawing on discarded envelopes I found in the rubbish bin in the school office.
People on the Cloud, 1989
I produced this picture during my first year at art school in Germany. I wanted to bring together the many interesting elements in my mind into a single world. It's as if the things I finally managed to fit in were walking on the very edges... an excess of elements.
Sleepless Night (Sitting), 1997
In the 1990s, I started to treat my backgrounds with a single colour while still maintaining a sense of nuance. If you look at this painting up close, I think you will see that the surface is very delicate. I made an effort to make the atmosphere surrounding the figure blend over the entire image, otherwise the figure would look like it had just been cut out and stuck on.
Missing in Action, 1999
Missing in Action represents the style of mine that is most recognised by viewers. This style began developing at the beginning of the 1990s and was established by the end of that decade. I try to express both colour and motifs with a minimum of simple elements.
Cup Kid, 2000
This image shows a little child playfully added into a ukiyo-e postcard. Adding something to an existing printed piece like this can serve as training to strengthen the imagination.
My Drawing Room 2008, Bedroom Included, 2008
I actually prefer drawing in a small room, the size of a child's bedroom, rather than in a large studio. It connects me back to my childhood, when I would doodle for fun. The things I have studied and learnt about art since my adolescence are important, but there's also something in those earlier feelings that shaped my individuality. For me, this piece feels like returning to the cocoon from before I hatched into the person that I am today.
One Foot in the Groove, 2012
I joined together six old window frames with the glass removed to create one board, then painted onto it a child lying on the clouds. After I had finished, I added the words 'One Foot in The Groove' in red... but realised immediately afterwards that they were unnecessary, and painted over them. I didn't come to this realisation until I had finished writing the words, so it ended up becoming a little detour. But being able to laugh at myself and think, 'I'm such an idiot,' is part of the fun of creating.
Miss Moonlight, 2020
It's difficult to look directly at the sun, but you can stare as much as you want at the moon. And, of course, moonlight is a reflection of sunlight, so you can also quietly feel the presence of the sun in it.
Yoshitomo Nara is at the Hayward Gallery, London SE1 (), from June 10-Aug 31
