There’s no web site where we can see your works in place right now. Aren’t you interested in the web and moving visuals?

We don’t have our own website to show our works right now. But I think it cannot be ignored today.

I’ve heard that you just started to use computers recently. Have your designs/illustrations been changed by using computers?

I bought my first computer in 1997. I know it’s too late. There’s no change in my way of thinking, but it broadened my way of expression by ten or twentyfold. Especially the way of approaching printing has changed in a big way.

Have you had any particularly impressive works you have created?

Hmm, it’s a hard question. When one work is finished, I always go forward to the next step and don’t look back. I love all the works that I’ve done until now, but I cannot remember what I’ve done in the past. As often happens, when I was looking for a past work I’d be surprised to see what I’ve done in the past. It’s funny.

When you made the cover design for Shift this month, what did you imagine and how did you work on it?

I’m now into this “dotted-line-overlap style’ and I made this cover with it. The theme is something like ‘a man and creativity’.

What are you interested in right now except for the activities of Enlightenment?

I used to be interested in ‘wave motion’ about three or four years ago. It amazed me because I didn’t know about it then, but there’s nothing I’m really interested in right now. But, I’m always interested in something spiritual in a big sense. Last week I went to a lecture meeting of the Dalai Lama and it was really wonderful.

Who do you want to collaborate with in the future?

I met Claude Closky when I visited Paris this February and we talked about doing something together some day in the future. I’m now interested in collaborating with fashion designers.

The last question. Do you have any plans for the near future?

I just started a new free paper, though it has no name yet. I cannot say nothing about the format right now, but it will be published around the end of May. I’m thinking to make 12 different designs for this series. Don’t miss it.
I’ll keep creating something new. The most important thing is to do whatever we want.

Hiro Sugiyama. Born in Tokyo in 1962. After graduating from the East Art School, had been working under Teruhiko Yumura. In 1987, formed Modern Art Group with Ichiro Tanida and represented their video, performance and painting works. In 1989, won the grand prize at Choice Exhibition. Then started Enlightenment Publishing in 1997. The free paper ‘TRACK’ was first published in 1999.