Are you sitting comfortably? Not for long, as it’s time to learn some troubling new vocabulary from Japanese subculture. This is a tale of “moe” – the Japanese slang term for a fetishistic obsession with fictional pre-adolescent girls.
A Fine Arts graduate, Mr. is a member of Murakami’s Kaikai Kiki collective, and is a self-confessed “otaku” – a geek with a specific obsessive interest. In this case it’s the big eyed, skinny limbed girls of anime, who for Mr. and other “lolicons” (those with a Lolita complex) represent an object of desire with boundless energy and whose youth suggests an immortality, but who will forever remain untouchable thanks to moral restraints. Mr. finds a release from his awkwardness through his creative expression, and with his latest collection Sweeet!, he attempts to bridge a cultural divide by incorporating elements of Western street art into his canvases. This collection is currently occupying a middle ground in Hong Kong’s Galerie Perrotin, and will remain there until 9 November.
@galerieperrotin
Mr.
Title to be determined, 2013
Acrylic on canvas
162 x 130 cm / 63 3/4 x 51 1/8 inches
©2013 Mr./Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.
All Rights Reserved.
Courtesy Galerie Perrotin
Mr.
Title to be determined, 2013
Acrylic on canvas
227,3 x 486 cm / 7.5 x 15.2 feet
©2013 Mr./Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.
All Rights Reserved.
Courtesy Galerie Perrotin
Mr.
Title to be determined, 2013
Acrylic on canvas
130 x 97 cm / 51 1/4 x 38 1/4 inches
©2013 Mr./Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.
All Rights Reserved.
Courtesy Galerie Perrotin
Mr.
“High School Story—Satsuki-tan
& Miyabi-kyun: Favorite”, 2013
Acrylic on canvas
194 x 162 cm / 6.4 feet x 63 3/4 inches
©2013 Mr./Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.
All Rights Reserved.
Courtesy Galerie Perrotin
Mr.
Title to be determined, 2013
Watercolor and pencil on paper
24,4 x 35,1 cm / 9 1/2 x 13 3/4 inches
©2013 Mr./Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.
All Rights Reserved.
Courtesy Galerie Perrotin
Mr.
Title to be determined, 2013
Acrylic on canvas
162 x 130 cm / 63 3/4 x 51 1/8 inches
©2013 Mr./Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.
All Rights Reserved.
Courtesy Galerie Perrotin
Mr.
Title to be determined, 2013
Watercolor and pencil on paper
38,1 x 46,3 cm / 11 3/4 x 8 1/4 inches
©2013 Mr./Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.
All Rights Reserved.
Courtesy Galerie Perrotin