SHOHEI Ochiai Flattens consumer products into Surrealistic Childlike paintings
“I have a passion for product design; most of the motifs I draw are related to consumer products,” says Shohei Ochiai. The Tokyo-based artist studied at Tama Art University, where he graduated about a decade ago, and is an admirer of the designs of consumer product company Braun, Memphis Group founder Ettore Sottsass, and famed Japanese designer Shiro Kuramata.
But the products and iconography that mark Ochiai’s paintings are more likely to stem from the turn of the twenty-first century. Video game consoles and cartridg-es appear frequently throughout his body of work. Pop culture figures like Pikachu, Badtz Maru, and Shin-Chan— as well as characters from the long-running manga and anime series One Piece—all dot his portfolio, as do pack-aging for grocery store staples like Cup Noodles, snacks such as Pocky, and fast food items. Looking at Ochiai’s work—full of entertainment referenc-es, junk food, soft drinks, and beer cans—it’s hard not to think about leisure time. And spare time was how Ochiai came to painting. “The initial motivation to start painting was simply because I had free time,” says Ochiai. “I tried various things like being a comedian, but being a painter felt the most natural and fitting for me.” His paintings bridge the youthful joy of drawing with an adult’s attention to the most minute details. The first thing you might notice about Ochiai’s paintings is that the products appear off-kilter. Beverage cans look as if they have been squeezed or crushed, objects that you recall as symmetrical are not. But zoom into the images and you’ll notice how intentional even the waviest lines in the image are. You’ll notice tiny text and patterns. They are the sort of details that you might miss at first glance, but become embedded in your memory when you regularly use or consume the products.
There’s a dreamlike quality to Ochiai’s paintings too, as if memories of the game you coveted or the McDonald’s meal you ate have returned in a surreal way, where plastic products look as if they’re melting and French fries look as if they are about to float up from a squished, red container.
“I paint with strength and attention to detail, without cutting corners,” says Ochiai. He uses a 4B pencil for the lines in his work. For color, he relies on a mix of paint, markers, and colored pencils. If you get the feeling that you’re missing something by looking at Ochiai’s work online instead of in person, it’s because you are.
“I use paper to make corrections, so the original artwork may have some thickness or texture that cannot be captured in photographs,” says Ochiai. “I would love for everyone to see the original artwork!” He elaborates, “I’m a bit lazy, so I decide on the colors directly on the canvas. Since I have specific preferences for lines and colors, it often takes multiple attempts to achieve the desired color combination. That’s when I use paper to make corrections on top of the canvas.”
In photos posted to Instagram in May 2023, you can see the artist at work on a large canvas. It’s a piece intended for the show This Is Ochiai Shohei, which was scheduled to run between late August and late September of 2023 at Yukiko Mizutani, Terada Art Complex in Tokyo. [In this show title the artist’s name is in its native order, rather than Western name order. —Eds.] The table in front of Ochiai is loaded with stuff, including paint brushes, a canned drink, and a bright yellow baseball cap that resembles one of the few objects in the painting that has already been filled with color. It looks like he might be painting in reference to the scene in the photograph’s forefront, but that’s not totally accurate. “The table is just messy, but there are several objects, like hats, incorporated into the painting… haha,” he responds.
Ochiai says that “childhood aspirations” are his main point of reference. “During my early childhood, my parents didn’t buy me many things, so I often draw things that I admired back then,” he explains. “This includes game consoles, toys, and so on.”
I TRIED VARIOUS THINGS LIKE BEING A COMEDIAN, BUT BEING A PAINTER FELT THE MOST NATURAL AND FITTING FOR ME.”
I’M A BIT LAZY, SO I DECIDE ON THE COLORS DIRECTLY ON THE CANVAS…IT OFTEN TAKES MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS TO ACHIEVE THE DESIRED COLOR COMBINATION….”
When it comes to video games in particular, Ochiai’s work harks back to the past. You’ll notice a GameBoy, a very ‘90s PlayStation, and a Sega Dreamcast amongst other decidedly retro devices. You might also notice a Donkey Kong Country cartridge and the 1998 yellow Pocket Pikachu digital pet. If you grew up in the 1990s, it’s likely that these are the kind of items you either had or wanted to have in your childhood bedrooms.
“Actually, I don’t play games much,” Ochiai says. “ As I mentioned before, I draw toys and games that I wanted or played during my childhood. I particularly loved Pokémon and Winning Eleven.”
But Ochiai’s work isn’t solely driven by the interests of his youth. He’s painted items owned by Pharrell Williams for the famed producer’s digital auction house Joopiter. For a friend’s music event, he made the poster art, bringing together a MacBook Pro, a microphone, and a yellow Overdrive pedal, adding his own detailed touch to the work. “Since my friend is a musician who produces music on a computer, I included a composition software on the laptop screen,” he says of the untitled piece.
He has also painted vintage cars and bikes—like a DeLorean DMC, the early ‘80s Honda CBX400F motorcycles, the century-old perfume Chanel No. 5, and Tokyo’s Nakagin Capsule Tower, the lattermost being designed by the influential architect Kisho Kurosawa, which was demolished in 2022.
Whether he’s referencing popular products, recognizable graphics, or beloved characters, Ochiai is tapping into the impact that design has on collective memory and that’s garnered him a legion of fans across the globe. His work reflects the power of good design in a way that often draws from his personal experiences, yet resonates with a much broader audience.
Says Ochiai, “I simply want the viewers to feel uplifted and energized when they see my work.” And it looks like they do.*
This article originally appeared in Hi-Fructose Issue 68 which is available in print here.
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