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This article is a joint project with the radio program "Jeep® CREATIVE GARAGE" on J-WAVE (81.3 FM). AKO and HOUYHNHNM's editor-in-chief Ryo Komuta will be the program navigators, and will delve into the roots and staples of the guests' lives on the theme of "standards" for about an hour on the last Sunday of each month at 10pm. In addition, you can listen to the radio on your PC or smartphone using the "radiko" service, which allows you to listen to the radio in real time or at your own leisure with the time-free function. We hope you will enjoy this new approach to radio and HOUYHNHNM's together!

• Jeep® CREATIVE GARAGE
• Last Sunday of every month 22:00-22:54
• Navigator: AKO, Ryo Komuta (Editor-in-Chief, HOUYHNHNM)
• J-WAVE 81.3FM "Jeep® CREATIVE GARAGE
• www.j-wave.co.jp/original/creativegarage

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Drawing as pure play.

Exhibitions in Tokyo, New York, London, Paris, and other cities in Japan and abroad, and collaborations with famous brands such as Vans. The unique touch of his work creates a nostalgic atmosphere that is unforgettable once you see it. The artist is Yusuke Hanai, one of the hottest artists in the world today. Where do his creative roots lie, and when did his style and style bud and blossom, and how was it established?

My starting point is pranks (laughs). Since I was a child, I used to secretly draw a portrait of someone and have fun with everyone. I still feel like I am doing the same thing today. That's why my works are not too serious, and they all make me chuckle.

Although it is hard to imagine from his current vivacious appearance enjoying surfing, he spent much of his childhood drawing pictures at home because he had asthma.

I have always loved drawing pictures since I was a child. Back then, all I did was draw pictures of Kinnikuman."

Music by the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, and others made their entrance.

What led this boy who "loved to draw" to consider "drawing as a career"?

When I was 19 years old, one of my seniors in my hometown decided to start a bar called "Road and Sky. We did everything from the basic construction, including the interior, to the signage and menu, which is how I got my start. I had never studied painting, just liked to draw portraits of people and play around with them since I was a child, but I was given the job because I was good at it. Some of the signs were about 3 meters wide and 1 meter long. After that, while working at the bar, I was asked to draw flyers for events, etc., and it became interesting.

The owner of the bar is a Shonan surfer who has been a senior of Mr. Hanai since he was in high school. He learned surfing, which is now his favorite hobby, from his senior, and was also inspired by the California-loving people who gathered at the bar.

My senior was into the American culture of the 60s and 70s. So the bar "Road and Sky" was a hangout where people who loved the music and culture of the 60s and 70s often gathered, and the local surfers in Shonan who loved America would get together every night and have a great time. I myself started with the Grateful Dead and became interested in hippies and beatniks. I liked a book called "The Art of Rock," which was a collection of rock concert posters, and I used to open it and look at it.

This influence is evident in the "Road and Sky" sign painted by Mr. Hanai.

The sign was painted based on the Jackson Browne record jacket logo. It was the work of Rick Griffin, who painted posters for the Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix. He was a big influence on me as well."

After a life of working in art, surfing, and working in exciting culture-soaked bars, he moved to San Francisco in 2003 to study abroad.

I had visited San Francisco on a backpacking trip, so it was a city I wanted to live in someday. Plus, more than anything, I loved the culture of San Francisco, including the music and beatnik works of Rick Griffin, the Grateful Dead, and Jimi Hendrix, which I mentioned earlier."

Studied in San Francisco for about a year. What did you gain there?

I went to a language school for the first six months and then to an art school for the other six months. There I received my first solid education in painting. I am not fluent in English, but I can now speak it at least at a level where I can communicate. It was also a great experience to be in San Francisco at a time when the city was still culturally interesting. At that time, Barry McGee's graffiti was all over the city.

Rapid jump from Yokohama to the world.

After returning to Japan, Mr. Hanai worked at a signboard shop and entered various contests in search of painting jobs. He was selected for the UNIQLO Creative Award, and his work was made into a T-shirt that was sold and won a prize of 100,000 yen. This was the start of a new chapter in Mr. Hanai's life.

One of the pictures that won a prize at UNIQLO caught the eye of the staff of a design magazine called MdN, and they interviewed me for an article. And now an employee of a web advertising agency who saw the magazine invited me as a web designer through an acquaintance. At the time, I didn't really know what to expect, but it was a big company, so I thought it would be a good idea (laughs).

While working as a web designer and continuing to do his own artwork, a turning point came to Mr. Hanai. At the "Moonshine Festival" held in Yokohama, the predecessor of the now well-known "Green Room Festival," "Lord and Sky," where he used to work part-time, opened a food booth. The sign will be painted again.

I was contacted by Jeff Canham and Andy Davis, who were at the event, and the owner of a gallery in California that carried their work, who liked my work and wanted to carry my paintings because they were interesting. I was contacted by them.

This led to his participation in "Happening," an event that toured the world, including New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Sydney.

Somehow I was invited to an event called "Happening" where Thomas Campbell and Barry McGee were displaying their works, and Jack Johnson, G Love, and Tommy Guerrero were performing there. I sold some of my work there. The person who bought it was Ben Harper's manager. He discovered Jack Johnson and produced his first album, and I was thrilled that he was the first to buy my work.

As a result of this turning point, Mr. Hanai has blossomed as an artist, collaborating with large select stores in Japan. Last year, he participated in a global project for "Vans," and this year, he will release a collaborative model with "Gregory. What is Ms. Hanai's message through her various works?

"As I wrote at the end of my art book, "Everybody has problems in life but we have the power in us to laugh ourselves out of them." In other words, In other words, "Everyone has problems in life but we have the power in us to laugh ourselves out of them. Everybody has problems in life but we have the power in us to laugh ourselves out of them.

Surfing is sometimes used as a motif in his works, but for Mr. Hanai, surfing is just a hobby.

Of course, there are jobs and other opportunities that have come about through my surfing, but it's just a hobby. I grew up near the ocean and live in Zushi because I love surfing and can do it anytime I want (laughs).

Jeep with a sense of American culture.

The car is an essential means of transportation to the ocean, even on today's day trips to the surf. What about cars?

I'm probably not really interested in what kind of specs it has, to be honest," he said. I own it solely as a transportation vehicle, and in the past I was OK with it if it could carry a surfboard, and now I have two children, so if it can carry my family, I guess I'm OK with that. But ......"

Mr. Hanai, however, seemed to have a slightly different impression of the Jeep he was given to drive this time.

I am influenced by American culture as well as art, and I love American things. I like the ruggedness that is characteristic of American things. I feel that in Jeeps. However, I also feel a certain elegance in the Grand Cherokee. In addition to Jeep's inherent masculinity, it also has a luxurious interior that gives the impression of elegance.

The world of art has expanded through the friends he has met through surfing and the relationships he has made in various places. What words does Mr. Hanai cherish, and what kind of future forecast does he have for the future?

I can't find a specific word for it, but I always think about the importance of connection. In my creative activities, I maintain the status quo. I am happy with the time I spend with my children, so I would like to spend more time raising them and surfing, which is my hobby. I would like to continue painting at my own pace, while never forgetting my roots as a "prankster.