I like this show a lot. I laughed a lot. Bits of stuff bronzed for prosperity. I was the only one in the gallery. As if everyone had suddenly vanished and left their underwear. Kagami’s book ‘Pubes’ collected his celebrity portraits. You cant help but imagine them drawn differently from no one. We only really know these people as characters anyway, from film to film, or endorsement to commercial. They are no more real to us than Kagami’s illustrations. Perhaps in a weird way they are more real or then again more fantastic. I’m not exactly sure what I’m saying here but like he’s said elsewhere he likes art that gets him to think in a weird way better.
Pubic hair after all gets everywhere. There wasn’t a time when a portfolio didn’t weld a page without a solitary pube finding its way between paper and polyester sleeve. It’s comforting that someone seeks pleasure in ‘demystifying’ what is a slight taboo everywhere else as well.
Damien Hirst visited the gallery and loved it. I’m sure there were others too. Jin Katagari of underground comedy duo Rahmens was there a few days ago (he’s a ‘local’) Rahmens, a bit like Kagami, give an extraordinary voice to mundane and forgettable things. Snot, cotton buds and old bra all get cast in bronze with an obligatory pack of dried, flash-fried ramen there for good measure. Simply put, I think this is the best show I have seen for a while.
Kagami has a shop in Shibuya called Strange Store.
And then there’s http://strangetak.exblog.jp/
The show runs until March 16 with a closing party from 4pm featuring Professor Ken Kagami’s Sexy Art School.
http://www.misakoandrosen.com/exhibitions/14/02/