Rebirth : ARUTA SOUP Solo Exhibition

L+/ Lucie Chang Fine Arts and Chopstick are pleased to present Aruta Soup’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong. In this exhibition titled REBIRTH, Aruta Soup showcases his unique satirical sense of on contemporary lifestyle. Peculiar secular things like pistols, chains, and banknotes, paired with cute rabbits. This ironic contrast is the unique British black joke of Japanese street artist Aruta Soup.

In each of his artwork, Aruta Soup opens dialogue on timely issues as well as people's psychological wellbeing. The rabbits that appear frequently on his works are reflections of the complex, chaotic and violent world he is living in, as well as forms of his soul, wounded yet desires a "rebirth". These rabbits go on a shooting spree at some times. Aruta Soup considers this behavior of shooting is to kill the useless parts and the ugly ones. Yet the act of shooting and killing such an awful inner self also means that there may be a risk of killing the part of the surface exposed to the public who was inextricably linked to the self. Through the works, the artist depicts the contradiction human faces in the process of self-reflection, and carries out his exploration of both visual and mental sensations.

Born in Japan, Aruta Soup moved to London to study Illustration at the Camberwell College of Arts. He was exposed to the underground graffiti culture in the city. Aruta Soup took part in the creation of murals at London's Cargo Club, alongside with pieces by Banksy and Shepard Fairey. He also caught the attention for his participation in Street Fest, the biggest street art event in London, for two consecutive years as a guest artist. Upon his return to Japan in 2012, he commenced creative work in the area of apparel and has handled main visual art direction chores in various venues. His work has been featured on i-D, MILK, and MILKBOY magazines. Til now, he has been staging solo exhibitions in various areas such as Japan and Taiwan.

To him, many things are bloody in the world we lives in. He was influenced by the exhibition events held at warehouses, factories and even abandoned houses, etc. There are exhibits where police cars are broken into pieces, junkies in their fifties are sleeping in Santa's clothes. Every scene rooted deep inside him. The plump figure created carries the meaning of excessive intake of ego and pleasure, it is finished in an ironical character that seems to embody the modern society. His creations are powerful weapons against the times and society.

Opening Reception: 13 June (Thur), 6 - 9 pm

Exhibition: 13 June to 17 July, 10 am - 7 pm

Live Painting Session: 15 June, 3 - 5 pm

L+ / Lucie Chang Fine Arts 很榮幸與 Chopsticks 聯手舉辦 Aruta Soup 於香港的首次個展「Rebirth」，此次展覽將展出一系列以諷刺幽默手段來反映生活的全新作品。手槍、鎖鏈、鈔票這些世俗之物，配上可愛兔子，這種強烈對比所帶來的衝擊，就是日本街頭藝術家 Aruta Soup 獨有的英式黑色幽默。

Aruta Soup 的每張作品都能引起對社會，甚至個人精神層面議題的討論。 經常出現在他的作品中的兔子，投射出他所生活的世界的某個狀態──複雜，混亂和充滿暴力，以及他的靈魂的模樣，受傷卻渴望重生。他們向自己開槍，藝術家認為這個行為是毀滅自己靈魂醜陋或無用的部分，但此舉同時抹殺了一部分的自己，或是向人展示的那個自己。藝術家透過作品呈現人類經歷自我反省時的矛盾，進行他對視覺與人類內心的一次探索。

生於日本，2004 年起在倫敦生活，於倫敦伯韋爾藝術學院修讀插畫。他經常活躍於地下文化，曾參加過 London's Cargo Club 的塗鴉創作，作品正與當紅藝術家 Banksy 及 Shepard Fairey 一同展出。由他在參與一個倫敦最大型的街頭藝術活動 Street Fest 開始，受到廣泛注目，並連續兩年被大會邀請以主要藝術家身份參與。其作品曾刊登在日本 i- D，MILK，MILKBOY 等雜誌。至今，他已在多個地區辦過個人展覽，包括日本、台灣。

對於藝術家來說，他所生活的世界是血腥的，正如他求學時，目賭在廢棄房屋裡舉辦的展覽畫面——警車被砸成碎片，五十多歲的癮君子穿著聖誕老人服在街邊睡覺。他所創作的人物飽滿的身軀，是過度陷入自我和享樂所致。這些當下社會的景象，也是藝術家想抨擊的對象。 開幕：6 月 13 日（周四）6 - 9 pm

展覽：6 月 13 日 - 7 月 17 日

現場創作：6 月 15 日（周六）3 pm