Hugo Yoshikawa. Le voyage de Taka et Yukimi

About

Born of a Japanese father and French mother, Hugo Yoshikawa has lived in various countries since childhood. An up-and-coming artist whose works transcend the genres of illustrations, manga, and drawings, Yoshikawa gives creative expression to his views of the world that has its roots in his international upbringing.

In this current exhibition, befitting of his background, manga is the chief medium used to develop a theme of travel where the artist introduces major cities of the world such as London, Paris, New York, Moscow, Shanghai, and Tokyo in a diverse visual panorama as seen through his eyes. In these works, Taka, Yoshikawa’s apparent alter ego, and his childhood friend Yukimi go on a voyage around the world. As the viewer follows the footsteps of these two characters, who appear in various scenes as manga or 3D art figures, landmarks that symbolize the individual cities and their popular cultures are introduced in the form of drawings or silkscreens.

At the same time, in this art exhibition, which is Yoshikawa’s first multi-media exhibition, various mediums both old and new - including animation, Instagram, cyanotype and 3D printer - are used experimentally to add new dimensions beyond the domain of conventional illustrations that focus on ink and water color. Such dynamic juxtaposition of plane and three-dimensional forms, still and moving images, and linking of the world of fantasy and the real world offers visitors the opportunity to explore and enjoy the wide array of unconventional perspectives of the world of Hugo Yoshikawa, who is still in the formative stage of his expression as an artist while already making a name for himself in the fields of illustration and drawing.

About the artist

Born in Tokyo in 1986, Yoshikawa spent the majority of his childhood living in London, Paris, Tokyo, Bangkok, and New York due to his father’s work. While living in Bangkok, he began reading popular French comics of the “Bande Dessinée” style including the adventure comics “Spirou et Fantasio,” which his mother bought for him. The sophisticated artistic quality of the comics made a strong impression on him and, at the age of ten, he decided to pursue a future in graphics. As the first step in this direction, he went to Great Britain after graduating from high school to attend Camberwell College, where he majored in illustration. After graduating, he began his career as an illustrator in Madrid and Tokyo. Returning to London, he continued to develop his creative expression in works that transcend the genres of illustration, manga, and drawings at a studio in Dalston, where illustrators, artists and designers gather from all over the world. As an illustrator, Yoshikawa chooses a diverse palette of media and techniques to give expression to his unique world including books and prints, hand drawing, and animation.

More information: http://www.hugoyoshikawa.com