YOKO HONDA
Green palms, pink mobiles and blue pools
21 November 2016
Life feels good in Japanese illustrator Yoko Honda’s work. Buzzing pinks, throbbing yellows, zany zigzags and flying geometric shapes are combined with strictly black outlines and gradient backgrounds that strongly evoke the essence of carefree fun that was the 80s – Honda’s work is like stepping back into the neon-tinged dreams and lifestyles of that particular decade but with a post-millennial edge. Household appliances, speckled wallpaper, hot dogs, ghetto blasters, squiggles and lips are just a few other items scattered throughout Yoko Honda’s worlds.
People have time here – time to enjoy pristine bathrooms with inviting tubs of blue, oh-so-blue water, time to gaze at the sun-drenched palm-tree views from French windows. Entrenched in relaxed optimism, her images harbour the promise of easy-going leisure pursuits or show the clothing-strewn, vacant pads of laidback owners, off to hang with Sonny and Rico at the local Laundromat. And while scantily clad, sun-kissed ladies sip on soda pop by the poolside, presumably listening to Chaka Khan’s ‘I feel for you’, pink cell phones cascade through the air accompanied by renegade spots, dots and twirls. This is the life, indeed.