(H)allo-poiesis by Kounosuke Kawakami

Kounosuke Kawakami was born in Yamanashi in 1979 and completed an MA in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in 2004. He is currently based in London. In (H)allo-poiesis, Kawakami uses a new visual language to explore his interest in the relationship between man and the natural world. Being Japanese, he has direct experience of natural disasters and the power of nature. It is the impact of this power that Kawakami refers to in much of his work. Often painting abandoned buildings eroded by nature, he chooses industrial architecture and resort towns as symbols for the interaction between the natural world and humans. Distorted hybrid figures frequently populate the paintings, like products from a post-nuclear, sci-fi fantasy; a post-apocalyptic world where the distinction between ugliness and beauty has begun to blur. Digitally mixing imagery from a virtual world of popular Japanese culture with his own drawings, Kawakami creates an imaginary landscape. Starting with this clear image, he then builds up collages of both man-made and natural materials on the canvas to create further tension. Ultimately, he aims to leave his message open for viewers to make their own interpretations.