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Jules Julien

CADAVRES EXQUIS

Jules JulienJules Julien

Jules Julien is an artist and illustrator, works in Paris, who was born in 1975.
After working as a freelance art director, he started making art work, mainly drawing and design, since 2006. His works appear in lots of magazines in Europe, America and Australia, and many media and galleries are interested in him. Nowadays, he joined the exhibition at Gallery Margalef ＆ Gipponi and Gallery Antebellum.
Then, his first exhibition in Japan is held at the DIESEL DENIM GALLERY AOYAMA in Tokyo, called CADAVRES EXQUIS. I interviewed him just before its opening.


Please tell us how you feel about your first exhibition in Japan.

I am really glad to do this. This is the third time for me to come to Japan. I am so exited to have my exhibition. I love Japanese culture.


Could you let us know what you like about Japanese culture?

For instance, the musicians, Asa-Chang&Junrei, the writers, Haruki Murakami, Yoko Ogawa and Soseki Natsume. Also, I like Manga, especially, "PingPong" and "Tekkonkinkreet" by Taiyo Matsumoto.


Jules Julien
Photo: Ken Kato


The theme of this exhibition is "Tokyo today". What do you think about Tokyo fashion?

Comparing Tokyo and Paris, Tokyo is the city people play with fashion. They wear colourful clothes and many goods as it is very uncommon in Paris. On the other hand, there is uniform culture in Japan. I saw lots of people wearing school uniform or suits. Tokyo has two aspects of culture in which people are freely enjoying fashion and unifying in their uniform. It is interesting.

Jules Julien
Photo: Ken Kato


The pictures in pink and black are new work for this exhibition, I heard. Please let us know the concept of your work.

There are three main concepts. The first is "play". As the title of the exhibition is "CADAVRES EXQUIS", I arranged "le cadavre exquis" -a popular play at the time of surrealism- to my style. The second is "the mode". It refers to a circle in fashion industry that continues forever. "The mode" in magazines influence street, and street fashion also influences fashion stylists and editors. You will see that in the pictures shown on the screen in front of the big window. The continuously changing silhouette implys this eternal fashion circle. The last one is "death body". People sometimes look like mind-less dead bodies because of the excessive style made up by themselves. It is expressed by unknown doll-like figures without faces. I would like to draw ambiguousness of fashion, both gorgeous and transient.


Why did you creat these pictures only in pink and black?

Pink is my favorite colour and it represents Tokyo’s Kawaii colour. On the other hand, black is the image of death. Therefore, it is suitable to express ambiguousness.


Jules Julien
Photo: Ken Kato


Like Beijing Series, a sort of irony is hidden in your works. What is it implying?

Beijing Series is the work of criticising the Beijing Olympics. I felt that the Olympics is featured more from the business side than as a pure sports event. Many companies and famous brands became sponsors of it because they wanted to do business in China. I criticised the situation of Olympic's huge involvement in the market. Additionally, the reason I drew a brand logo at people's face for Beijing Series, it is metaphor for Chinese government that censors media including the Internet.
It can be seen from my works overall. I make my work from observing outside and reconstructing rather than expressing something inside of me.


With making works and being an artist, what is the influence to you?

The poem, Je est un autre by Arthur Rimbaud, is the origin of my creativity. I realised that everything cannot be told just from the surface. I should look at it more deeply.


What motivates you to be an artist?

To be honest, I cannot think of not being an artist. This is the only way I can be myself. Works are the present for people and I always try to give people precious time. I would like my audience to feel the joy of life through the process of "seeing", not just through thinking logically in their heads, so that I am always particular about visual aesthetics.


In addition to the works at the exhibition, some items (DVD including a film with motifs from Cadavres Exquis, skull-mirror set inspired from Narcissus in Greek Mythology) are sold at the gallery.

Jules Julien "CADAVRES EXQUIS"
Date: May 23rd - August 2nd, 2009
Open: 1F STORE 11:00 - 20:00 / 2F GALLERY 13:00 - 20:00 (Non-regular holiday)
Place: DIESEL DENIM GALLERY AOYAMA 2F
Address: 6-3-3 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Tel: +81-3-6418-5323
Curator: Kimiko Mitani Woo / MW Company
Cooperation: Acer Japan Corporation, Roland DG Corporation
http://www.diesel.co.jp/denimgallery

Text: Wakana Kawahito

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