I am Choc Peppermint Muffin, a self-taught acrylic painter from Japan. I have now lived in Germany for the past 20 years.
My paintings are inspired by Pop Surrealism, which triggers mixed feelings of comfort and creeping unease. Since I was a child, I’ve been creating “cute creepy” figures. I started painting seriously at the beginning of this year and posting my artwork on various social media sites, e.g. Instagram or Deviant art. My goal is to trigger paradoxical emotions of affection and fear simultaneously.
At the moment, I mostly use acrylic paints. I also use crayons, markers, watercolors, colored pencils and even kitchen paper, depending on how I want to express my feelings on the canvas.
HAAM4 is the first exhibition I am participating in. I look forward to turning someone’s nightmare into a sweet dream or the other way round.
Biography
Art has always been a part of my life and creates a safe space for me to explore deep thoughts and dive into my imagination.
Since I was a child, I have loved drawing and creating my own “creepy cute” characters. Alice in Wonderland and Nightmare Before Christmas are definitely my inspiration for my whimsical and melancholic paintings. I still remember the feeling where my brain tries to understand the paradox of the opposites.
Since last year, I started painting characters which I created when I was a child. By combining innocent or adorable elements with unsettling and dark features, I try to trigger two opposite emotions, comfort and fear, which hopefully anyone can relate to.