Takashi Murakami’s The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg At The VAG

What’s up with the Vancouver Art Gallery?!

First there was Mash Up: The Birth of Modern Culture in 2016. That was followed by Juxtapoz X Superflat in 2017. And now they’re exhibiting Takashi Murakami’s The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg.

They are on a roll!

World renowned artist Takashi Murakami is the founder of superflat, a postmodern art movement. It is the flattening of high art/low brow culture and its influence can be found in Japanese manga, anime, skate, surf, punk, graffiti, street art, comics, and digital arts.

He’s exhibited pieces at the VAG before, but now the VAG is holding a major retrospective of Murakami’s works, with over 55 pieces, spanning three decades of his career. The exhibit is a first in Canada and the only Canadian stop on Murakami’s three-city North American tour. It covers Murakami’s earliest works to his most recent large-scale projects.

This exhibit is colourfully punchy, irreverent, and super fun. It could most certainly exhibit in places like New York or London. In fact, this exhibit is organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

Sean and I loved everything about The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg. We went from room to room, completely delighted. Murakami’s large installations has so much going on that it begs to be studied, especially if you’re checking out 100 Arhats, 69 Arhats Beneath the Bodhi Trees, or the Isle of the Dead.

The Arhat installations were in response to Fukushima’s earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Deeply affected by the devastation, Murakami started delving into Buddhist history, in particular Buddhist monks who traveled the land, consoling and enlightening others. Murakami’s eccentric arhats are updated and featured in his installations.

This is what I want from the VAG and with this exhibit, it delivered the wow factor in spades.

Some pics:

I hope the VAG will continue to delight and surprise with exhibits like this. I highly recommend The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg. Be quick – the exhibit runs until May 6.