Murakami - one of the best-selling artists alive, internationally recognised for his signature Superflat style and adoption in the streetwear world - is known for his lavish spending, which some have speculated to be behind his abrupt breaking of ties with Blum & Poe, the gallery which had represented him since the 1990s, in 2019.
Citing the “sudden swoop of COVID-19 pandemic” as the catalyst for his business’ financial worries, Murakami explains how he was forced to abandon his passion project of nine years, big-budget sci-fi film Jellyfish Eyes: Part 2. Despite recognising the project’s shortcomings in terms of business success, the artist continued to pour money into production: “Long story short, I’m a silly human being for whom the moment of bliss is when I am thinking my truly childish sci-fi thoughts”, the caption reads.
The feature film will instead be formatted as a series of small video clips, with an as yet undecided number of episodes. Kaikai Kiki Gallery’s future, meanwhile, is yet more unknown; the artist did not elaborate on his plans for the space, but no further exhibitions are listed following the close of “Spiral and Spring” on March 24.
