When “tears” are commonly seen as a sign of weakness, Japanese emerging artist Hashizume Yuya has his unique perspective, using “tears” as elements in his artwork to encourage people to release inner discomfort and sadness. Let negative emotions flow away with tears, and embrace joyful moments in life again. Recently invited by local artist and young art collector Joey Thye, who runs the art unit The Real Project, Hashizume Yuya will hold his first exhibition in Hong Kong at Gallery HZ in Sheung Wan, titled “eyewater: MUSIC.” The exhibition not only showcases his iconic works but also presents his new experiments, including using “music” as a creative theme for the first time, challenging the use of real people as character prototypes, and creating three-dimensional works to show a whole new side to the audience.
“eyewater: MUSIC” will showcase 13 pieces of artwork and 1 three-dimensional sculpture, including 6 pieces from Yuuya Hashizume’s iconic “eyewater” series. The paintings are presented in a close-up side view style, with vibrant colors that give a sense of joy, but the corners of the protagonist’s eyes always carry a hint of tears, reflecting the sadness and vulnerability that everyone has deep inside, but there is no need to hide it. Releasing it allows one to regain happiness.
Yuya Hashizume used a rare “distant view” approach to depict a little girl in his new work “eyewater: MUSIC” series, where she appears to be floating in mid-air with headphones or a guitar. The artist creates unique images to convey the theme of music, while also aiming to bring a relaxed and comfortable feeling to the audience.
Does everyone feel that the characters in the print “Joey Thye – Think Pink” are a bit familiar? Because this series of works is actually the first time Hashizume Yuuya has challenged himself to create characters based on real people, and the protagonist is Joey Tai! Hashizume Yuuya cartoonized Joey Tai’s appearance, added musical note patterns to her hair, and included a guitar in the picture, delicately depicting Joey as a musician. Hashizume Yuuya also created a 1.7-meter sculpture with a brown color scheme based on “Joey Thye – Think Pink”, matching Joey Tai’s height, allowing everyone to take photos with “her” at the exhibition! Joey, the character under Hashizume Yuuya’s pen, said that this exhibition is also one of the projects celebrating her two-year debut anniversary, hoping that everyone can feel her passion for music from the works.
“eyewater: MUSIC” exhibition also brings a series of limited edition souvenirs, including a limited edition of 150 cartoon figurines based on the “Joey Thye – Think Pink” sculpture, as well as a limited edition handmade wooden chair created in collaboration with local creative unit Start From Zero. In addition, there are 50 limited edition prints of “Joey Thye – Think Pink” personally signed and numbered by Hashizume Yuya and Tai Tsz Yee, which are highly collectible. Furthermore, The Real Project collaborates with kkplus to hold a “Hashizume Yuya x Joey Thye Limited Time Store” at Langham Place in Mong Kok, to heat up the exhibition and release limited edition items in advance. Don’t miss out.
“eyewater: MUSIC” Exhibition
Dates: October 17th to October 25th (11:00 AM to 7:00 PM)
Location: 222 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan
“Hashizume Yuya X Joey Thye Pop-up Store”
Date: October 10th to October 18th (12:00 PM to 9:00 PM)
Location: Shop 02-03, 12th Floor, Langham Place, Mong Kok – kkplus
圖片來源：Gallery HZ, ig@the.realproject_,facebook@kkplus
