From psychedelic to picture books. The landscape that lies beyond Kenichi Asai's gaze.
You did the cover illustration for "God Always Makes Both" yourself. Could you tell us about the theme you wanted to express in the illustration?
That's a gun in both hands. God always makes both." What can I say, it's both "cute" and "terrible," and little punks and adult punks are both "both. I thought it was nice.
The child punks with dumplings and ice cream....
And both of them. The West and the East. Dumplings are Japanese. Dumplings versus soft-serve ice cream... I think soft-serve ice cream might win (laughs).
Are there any illustration-related influences?
I don't know their names, but there are a lot of them. Nowadays, it is so convenient that you can find wonderful illustrations from all over the world when you search for them on the Internet. I think they are all amazing.
I was wondering if the color palette of your illustrations is influenced by American psychedelic art of the 1970s, such as Peter Max, or if your touch has a "The Adventures of Tintin" feel.
Yes, of course, I'm influenced by all of them. I like "The Adventures of Tintin" too. I have the book. Tintin has beautiful pictures, too. Tintin seems to take pictures of real things and make them his own.
Do you feel any influence from working with someone who, like you, is active at the forefront of the field of painting?
I haven't seen his studio in detail, but I think he works extremely hard. It's no surprise. I think he took a lot of time to paint "Baby Revolution.
