Takashi Murakami hits Hong Kong with hip-hop inspired show, jam-packed with skulls, flowers and post-apocalyptic paintings
- Japanese contemporary artist’s new exhibition ‘Murakami vs Murakami’ is showing at Tai Kwun Contemporary until September
- From post-apocalyptic works to his optimistic flower pieces, Murakami is at his best
Before he begins this interview, Japanese artist Takashi Murakami removes his hat. It’s a three-tiered confection with a tiny, bespectacled, pony-tailed face peeking out – a portrait of the artist as a layer-cake.
He keeps on his silver-spangled outfit, however. It’s labelled “Murakami vs Murakami”, the title of his new exhibition at Hong Kong’s Tai Kwun Contemporary.
How’s he feeling today? “Pretty bad,” he says, and lowers his eyes to the carpet that’s crammed with skulls and was specially commissioned for the show. Everyone present – his Japanese entourage, the PR team, Tai Kwun Contemporary’s staff – is wearing blue over-slippers to protect it.
Three thousand pairs are on standby for public use when the exhibition opens. Only the artist’s silver footwear, wiped on a paper towel beforehand, is allowed to tread upon its surface.
“Am a little bit down,” he continues. “Sorry. This is my character. In interviews, [the] artist is not an actor.”
With Murakami, 57, a glum seam tends to run through the apparently glittery proceedings. The last time we’d met, in September 2018 when he had a Gagosian show in Hong Kong, he’d insisted he’d done nothing new for a decade; at one point, he’d announced he was choking and made gestures of self-strangulation.