Yutaka Hashimoto
Uncovering bias through repetition
“I consider my work a device to explore how we understand unknowable and inconceivable elements in our life, and how we perceive things differently from each other.”
Does repetition produce bias? That question is central to Yutaka Hashimoto’s art. His practice centres around the concept of “Null”, channeled through “character which looks familiar but it has actually never existed.” It is intentionally ambiguous, leaving space for the viewer to bring their own interpretation “derived from various factors and backgrounds such as race, religion, culture etc.”. At the same time, Hashimoto is also questioning his own biases and seeking to eliminate them through repetition.
Hashimoto turns the idea of the “throw-up” to a science. He considers most of his works “s...
Does repetition produce bias? That question is central to Yutaka Hashimoto’s art. His practice centres around the concept of “Null”, channeled through “character which looks familiar but it has actually never existed.” It is intentionally ambiguous, leaving space for the viewer to bring their own interpretation “derived from various factors and backgrounds such as race, religion, culture etc.”. At the same time, Hashimoto is also questioning his own biases and seeking to eliminate them through repetition.
Hashimoto turns the idea of the “throw-up” to a science. He considers most of his works “studies”. A continual “process of trial-and-error”. He draws from the idea of the “throw-up”. The practice originates in graffiti, and is an image or a mark that becomes as recognisable as the artist’s signature. Before creating a work Hashimoto creates a set of rules – “for example, I only use black and white colours, or I only draw the same characters. Next, I work according to these rules, but I try to be very careful not to make the work look like something I've drawn before.” Through this strict methodology, Hashimoto uncovers the complex biases disguised in a simple idea.
Yutaka Hashimoto (he/him) was born in 1979 in Osaka, where he continues to live and work.
Hashimoto lists a wide range of influences from both east and west – Genpei Akasegawa, On Kawara, Henri Matisse, David Hockney, Francis Bacon, Shinro Ohtake, Osamu Tezuka, Walt Disney, and Fujiko Fujio to name a few.
“I often use spray paint, house paint and more recently charcoal. I often use the process of painting the same black and white lines over and over again on a screen.”
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