And Then, And Then And Then And Then And Then Yellow Jelly 2006

Takashi Murakami made this image, "And Then, And Then And Then And Then And Then Yellow Jelly," and you can feel the gesture of the artist working in layers, shifting and emerging through intuition. I can imagine Murakami in his studio thinking about how pop art and anime merge together. This sunny yellow radiates happiness but there is something about the drips that makes me wonder about some melancholy in the making. Maybe a rainy day in Tokyo? Look at the layers of bright colours in the eyes that reflect and distort our gaze, suggesting an alternate world! It’s a place where high and low culture meet, and where everything is cute, but maybe just a little bit sad. Murakami's work reminds me of Warhol's pop sensibility with a Japanese twist. All artists are in an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity. Painting is a form of embodied expression that embraces uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations. What do you see?