2 Artists Stand Together: LAM's First Solo Exhibition "Eyes & Thunderbolt" - Can Design Stifle an Illustration?
Article by pixivision editors, Photo by Kazuya
- LAM
- Illustrator from Japan's Fukuoka Prefecture. After doing UI design for Atlus, they started working as a freelance illustrator in 2018 and are gaining popularity for their vivid, eye-catching art. Some examples of their work include art for the HAL specialized training school 2019 commercial, as well as character designs for the VR mystery adventure game Tokyo Chronos and the arcade rhythm game WACCA. They're also active internationally and illustrated the main visuals for the 2019 BICAF International Comic and Animation Festival held in Beijing.
Art That Will Get Burned Into Your Retinas
Doing an exhibition has been a dream of mine, so I'm very happy. WAEN Gallery actually contacted me a while ago, but I wanted to have something really amazing to show, so I decided to wait a year and prepare.
We thought this would be a good opportunity to use the exhibition as an introduction to both myself and Rai Rai (A design team headed by LAM and Kaitou). So I chose illustrations that best represent my work and are relatively well known. I also figured if I'm doing an exhibit I don't want to skimp on quality, so of course the number of illustrations on display increased.
I want my work to impress the viewer. When I draw I do it thinking I want to make art that gets burned into your retinas. I wanted to choose a title that really reflects my style, using this exhibition and compilation as a new beginning, and decided on "Eyes & Thunderbolt."
The name came from Tomoyuki Arima, who designed the T-shirt. I wanted to use the word "and," because it has this sense of interaction between yourself and other people. So when they mentioned eyes and thunderbolt I knew that was it.
Designs to Stifle Illustrations
But then, Katou asked me to draw pictures that could hold their own in a design, saying they'd push for really powerful designs, too. That's how we got this. Katou thought of all the specifics. Right now they're hidden by illustrations, but the walls do look very cool.
I wanted to use neon so I had them put in. They were ridiculously expensive though (haha). But since this is my first exhibit and all, I had them put in with a supplementary budget
In RGB, haha.
Night is the best. The colors of the pictures do change a little (haha) but that just adds to the experience.
Where'd you get the idea for the look of the space?
And LAM likes kanji. The look you see is born from a mix of our interests.
Yes! So please check it out once it's out.
There's music, the space Katou designed, a ton of my illustrations, and the staff will be wearing original Rai Rai parkas and jackets...we really made a place that's completely "LAM." I want people to feel like they've entered a different dimension from the moment they step foot in it.
I actually drove it in, but ran out of gas along the way...pushing that into the gas station was really embarrassing, haha.
I was super inspired the moment I saw that machine. I drew the picture behind it in about 3 or 4 hours.
The Mutual Trust in Rai Rai Public Company Ltd.
I draw something, then hand it over to Katou for the design phase.
The way we do things is pretty unique. There are times when I don't see the design until it's been submitted. I started out explaining what my general image was for the picture, but I just trust Katou will do something I'll like.
I think the art book is one of the best books Katou's designed yet, I love it.
