Kaikai Kiki Gallery

ob debuted at the age of 18 in 2011, when a new generation of artists who had emerged with the rise of social media were gaining attention in Japan, and she was one of the leading figures of the up-and-coming generation.

Since her debut until now, her signature girls with large eyes have been a projected image of herself. Maturing alongside the author throughout the years, these characters have always stood quietly in a deeply introspective world.

Recently we were given the chance to collaborate with Netflix, and the works of ob were used during the shooting of their upcoming drama series Followers directed by Mika Ninagawa. Within the drama, ob’s pieces are displayed in Kaikai Kiki Gallery as the works of female artist Sunny played by KOM_I.

This exhibition is a recreation of the atmosphere of the gallery during the solo show within the drama, and a talk show by creators Mika Ninagwa, KOM_I, ob, and Takashi Murakami will be live streamed online to mark the opening.

A Message from the Artist

I have been given the opportunity to hold a solo exhibition concurrent to the release of Followers, directed by Mika Ninagawa.

It is a partial recreation of an exhibition held by Sunny within the drama. Sunny and I connected in the sense that we are both painters, and have debuted via social media posting.

The works of this exhibition are based on my own pieces I created ten years ago. Sunny reminds me of myself at the time; wandering through adolescence full of uncertainty.

Living alongside my adolescent self through creation, it was a calm feeling as if I was climbing up a spiraling flight of stairs, or watching a stranger. At the end of the spiraling staircase, arrived upon the repeated cycle of birth and death of a single soul, perhaps I will see somebody different from myself in the same way as I watch a character in a TV drama.

ob