Oct 13-30 YOSHI47: “GO BONKERS!!!”

I used to live in a lot of major cities, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tokyo etc… living as a bike messenger, and also one of urban bombers. However, now I ended up living in a country side which is absolutely quiet but nature sound system. Once you get out, you can reach to a number of beautiful streams, mountains, and also the ocean you can surf. Moreover, very limited but you can grow some foods in a small farm. You start getting some sense of weather: air, humidity, wind, clouds, rain, atmospheric pressure and how the earth going around in the universe. It sounds crazy, but you can definitely feel that you are connected to the outer-space through where you stand. It feels really good to me and I am now able to see things more and feel more here living in a quite village. After all, positive energy flows around and it seems everyday has become something you never feel, a great happiness with all these senses and smiles.

I was going to title my solo exhibition as just simple one word “NATURE” to express how great it is. However, what I think everyday is not just nature itself. I mean, nature includes everything on this planet even plastic garbage bottle on the beach coming from somewhere far, but I wanted to describe something suitable for what I am thinking now clearly, which could be about politics, environmental issues, things that you feel “CRAZY” on a news paper, and National Geographic Magazine LOL and also problems you confront directly through your eyes and skins in a daily life. Once I said, “Nature”, you can immediately think something calm and quiet like a relaxation image. This is not what I want to express through my art and brain. What I truly want to show is that nature is crazy, people are crazy, to tell you the truth, everything is crazy. Don’t you think so?

I was in San Francisco a month ago after a mural festival in Portland, and I was walking with my artist friend, Ferris Plock, and his son Brixton toward his elementary school in an early morning. We were talking about things on this planet and how crazy this world is now (including 2 US presidential candidates and Japanese war-love priminister, and absolutely about the rent going high and high above the clouds in San Francisco because of the tech people) . Even though we can find some rest place for sure, but still you never know what’s up tomorrow. Climate changes strangely often in these days and earth is aging so fast. In an economic world, the capitalism started going down, riches try to be more rich to survive, and poors will never see sunrise anymore on the street next day… Majority gets brainwashed and going to the same way that they never realize where they are heading toward. It seems we lost a lot of loves somewhere.

I was drinking morning coffee walking on the way to the elementary school and we heard a car honking at a driver in front so many times like shooting bullets. The driver didn’t do anything wrong, she tried to park her car on the side and couldn’t make it all at once. I am sure that the driver behind couldn’t be patient so that he started attacking her. This is not a rare thing in these days, I guess you all have the same experience at least once in a month.

I said, “What’s wrong with people in these days?”

and he answered, “Bonkers dude, bonkers…”

A world is full of “BONKERS” I guess.

BIOGRAPHY

Born in 1981 Gifu Prefecture, Japan.
At the age of twenty, he moved to California, U.S.A. to pursue an art career. He spent four years in the Bay area doing live painting and participating in both solo exhibitions and art events. While living in San Francisco, he discovered a small group of avid bicyclists and became a bike messenger. It was through his experience as a courier that he found his essence of life and the conceptual basis
for his art. In 2006, he returned to Japan. Initially he lived in Tokyo, where he continued to work as a messenger and became involved in the bicycle industry. He eventually relocated to Kariya City for two and a half years to focus on his artistic and business endeavors. In 2010, he spent eight months in Tochigi and afterward returned to Tokyo, where he is currently based. He is involved in art curating, graphic design, company/collaborative projects, and continues to exhibit his artwork worldwide such as Australia, China, America, Canada and France. He currently resides in a country side where he can ride a bike, surf, fishing, camp and snowboarding.
http://www.yoshi47.com/