The Tokyo Chapters: An Illustrator's Ambition
If Japan is rated as one of the most creative countries in the world, it goes without saying that Tokyo is a creative epicentre.
It’s a place that people from many backgrounds romanticise and instantly fall in love with when they finally get their first chance to visit, especially after an early life of being exposed to the vast amounts of media that depicts Neo-Tokyo in all its glory.
Tokyo grips you in and holds you tight. It has a magnetic force that you can’t explain but leaves you longing for more, wondering what life would be like if you could make the leap, to be afforded the opportunity to spend time getting into its underbelly, to truly understand the city from an insiders perspective.
To celebrate The Basement’s collaboration with Nike, which looks at creative cities and the culture that supports them, we spoke to three Tokyo based illustrators that have made this very leap and asked them what it’s like to be a creative in Tokyo today, thousands of miles from home.
The Tokyo Chapters: An Illustrator's Ambition
TIARA
Where are you from and what are you doing in Tokyo?
I was born in Indonesia. I work here as a model & freelance illustrator.
What does this city mean for your art and hustle?
Tokyo always gives me inspiration.
How hard was it for you to get where you are right now and do what you do?
Everything is not as easy as blinking, but I just keep doing what I like and believe in myself.
What advice would you give to other artists?
Don’t stop creating (and don’t procrastinate!)
What's next for you?
I’m planning to make an art zine!
VLOEK
Where are you from and what are you doing in Tokyo?
I'm from Indonesia and currently studying Curation in Tokyo.
What does this city mean for your art and hustle?
This city means a lot to me, I always dreamed to live in Tokyo since middle school and now I'm here chasing my dream by doing art.
How hard was it for you to get where you are right now and do what you do?
There are always hard times but you need to just go through it no matter what. At this moment I'm still not at the point where I really want to be but all I need is to follow the process and that's the key to make it happen.
What advice would you give to other artists?
Just believe in yourself and your capability of doing something. Do it!
What's next for you?
To have a solo show in Tokyo.
JOHNNY TERROR
Where are you from and what are you doing in Tokyo?
I’m from Berlin and just moved to Tokyo some weeks ago on a work-and-travel-Visa. But I came to stay.
What does this city mean for your art and hustle?
New grounds, new areas to conquer. Artistic annexation.
How hard was it for you to get where you are right now and do what you do?
The actual process of creating art pieces comes as natural as anything. The path that leads to this was complicated but I think that is part of the game and also shows that it’s the right thing to do.
What advice would you give to other artists?
Don’t pretend to be nice and modest. Use hate and jealousy as fuel. Be an artistic narcissist. Work towards a state in which you like your own work more than any other.
What's next for you?
Things will happen. The train never stops.
