Sneakerwolf in Paris: Interview on its exhibition mix of Japanese culture and street art

The exhibition takes place at the Helinox Creative Center, in Paris, from October 16th to 30th, 2024. Composed of 15 new works, specially created for this event, it invites the public to discover a universe where tradition and modernity blend. Through its works, Sneakerwolf offers a reflection on Japanese culture while being part of the aesthetics of contemporary graffiti.

I was working in commercial graphic design and creating artwork. However, I didn’t intend to become an artist. When I was starting to feel stressed about the gap between my job and what I really wanted to do, I read a book by Tadanori Yokoo in which he said that he declared himself a painter at the age of 42. At that time, I was also 42, and it spoke to me. I held a solo exhibition at my own expense. I think that’s when I really started as an artist. After that, with each solo exhibition, I received offers for other exhibitions or collaborations. Even though I’m not affiliated with any gallery, I’ve been able to hold solo exhibitions regularly and continue in this way until today.

Since I was a child, I have always loved American street culture, especially skateboard graphics and street art, and wanted to create some of my own. However, when I wanted to create original Japanese street art that was not a simple copy of American street art. I discovered 18th century Japanese street culture, such as Edo-moji and Ukiyo-e. My style emerged when I realised that the same culture I was looking for in America, already existed in 18th century Japan. From there, my style took shape as I continued to create works based on traditional Japanese culture, which is my root, while incorporating the American culture that influenced me from birth, with the goal of creating works where these two worlds coexist.

Edo-moji was born at the same time as Ukiyo-e. Today, Ukiyo-e is considered art, while Edo characters are not recognised as such. My goal is to define the beauty of Edo-moji and integrate them into the art world. I believe it is worth it. Just as Ukiyo-e was recognised as art by Parisians, I feel that this exhibition is an opportunity for Edo characters to also be reestablished as art by Parisians.

For this project, I wanted to extract the aesthetic forms of Edo characters, rather than simply draw them. So I used meaningless letters for this purpose. I thought I could express this by exaggeratedly distorting abstract brushstrokes. I was inspired by brushstrokes in the style of Roy Lichtenstein, among others, to create these works.

What are the shapes of Edo letters? And why are we drawn to them? That’s where my exploration began. When I was a child, I was hospitalised for an illness. At that time, a boy a little older than me, in the next bed, gave me a large quantity of anime erasers. One of them was of an anime character called SD Gundam, who had a deformed appearance with a big head and few details. During my stay in the hospital, this object really supported me emotionally. Thinking back, I realised that this was the same thing that was done with Edo characters. I was convinced that the origin of the animation technique called “super deformation” came from Edo characters, and I concluded that it was one of the aesthetic and technical aspects unique to the Japanese people. This is how I established the theory of “super deformation.”

I don’t have an academic background in fine arts. That can be a challenge, but I think it’s also a strength. My work is definitely something that Europeans have never seen before. I see this as an opportunity to cause the same shock that Ukiyo-e caused in Paris.

We don't consciously integrate it into our production, but I think it has a latent influence.

I am influenced not only by the themes and techniques, but also by the mentality of Japanese craftsmanship. Satisfying the customer, clean work, and manual work are also important elements in my work.

By drawing shapes in English (graffiti) that resemble Chinese characters (calligraphy), the aim is to break down the preconceived ideas and stereotypes of the spectators.

We aim to change some preconceived ideas and individual concepts. I believe that discrimination and conflicts in the world are caused by social or personal prejudices. So if we can change them a little bit, I think discrimination and conflicts will decrease in the world.

To conclude this interview, we would like to warmly thank Helinox Creative Center for hosting this first European exhibition of Sneakerwolf in Paris. We would also like to thank to the artist for his detailed and fascinating answers.

The exhibition “Super Deformism” is visible from October 16th to 30th, 2024 at the Helinox Creative Center, located at 10 Rue du Perche, 75003 Paris. Take advantage of this opportunity to discover these unique works, created exclusively for this event.