Special Interview
HIROHIKO ARAKI

I glance at the desk on the workshop. Disposed on it were felt-tip pens, G-pens, brushes, and copious amounts of black and colored inks and acrylic paints. For Araki, it was important that these enormous paintings were painted by hand, and not digitally or by employing new methods, just like with his usual original artworks. “I like the ‘chemical reactions’ that happen when you draw manga. You could call it contingency. For example, the unexpected contrasts or bleeding that occur when you paint two different colors next to each other. I enjoy being surprised by what happens. Manga presents many appeals be it the story, the characters, or the general world-view, but I’d like to add ‘enjoying hand-drawn original artworks’ to that list. And not only that, I’d like those original artworks to be produced precisely to be enjoyed as original artworks, and not for being printed as it is usually the case.”

In addition to the large original artworks, the exhibition also includes numerous original artworks that are presented to the public for the first time, as well as works produced in collaboration with artists who are fans of JoJo, such as sculptor Motohiko Odani, and designer Kunihiko Morinaga of the fashion brand Anrealage. These works open our eyes anew to JoJo’s multifaceted allure: the “Stands” that materialize super-powers, the poses struck by characters inspired by Renaissance era sculpture and fashion magazines that came to be known as “JoJo dachi” (JoJo standing), or the memorable character quotes. But how did Araki conceive of this work with such expressive breadth?

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