Title: Kitchen
Artist: Zain7
About the Work:
There are moments when, even in those places we feel most safe and secure, we cannot escape the chaos.
One such moment is captured perfectly by Japanese artist Zain7 in his digital artwork, Kitchen. The triadic colour scheme and half-naked subject create a sense of warmth and comfort, while the overwhelming clutter has taken over just about every square inch of the classic Japanese micro-apartment.
All at once, the subject looks content and yet mournful. It’s not hard to imagine that something far more important than the mess around her sink weighs on her mind, but what? We get few clues as to who this young woman is – the clothes suggest she is quite young, but there are no pictures of friends or family anywhere and, like most residents of such apartments, the dishes and bottles on the bench top suggest she lives alone. Has her isolation finally taken its toll? We can only guess.
Anime fans are likely to see the influence of filmmakers Makoto Shinkai and Satoshi Kon in the artist’s work. Both Shinkai and Kon’s films are intensely focused on the inner lives, the inner worlds, of its characters, while still portraying vivid and vibrant landscapes, and have become two of the most iconic Japanese directors of the last 20 years accordingly.
Outside of original works, Zain7 has contributed drawings for other commercial work. Most notable are his pieces depicting holographic pop-star Hatsune Miku, which were used in Toyota’s 2011 Corolla campaign, and in promotional material for a Miku exhibition at the Machida City Museum of Graphic Art.