His colourful and witty illustrations of daily life in Tokyo merged with Olympic sporting events made the rounds on social media. Tatler Hong Kong chats with the person behind the creative illustrations
If you’ve been keeping up with the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, you might have spotted some of the colourful illustrations, taking a fun spin on the Games making rounds on Instagram. The drawings of daily life in Tokyo merged with Olympic sports events kindred the heart of those missing Japan and those who want to watch the Games, in person if there was no pandemic.
Some of these illustrations include a shop clerk opening his store shutters, commuters doing gymnastics on the train or how the plastic barriers in shops look like a game of volleyball. The person behind these fun and witty illustrations is Tokyo-based artist, Adrian Hogan, who has been working as a freelance illustrator in Japan for almost a decade.
Hogan has no shortage of beautiful works, working with the likes of Apple, Hermès, Cartier, Gucci, Starbucks and Aesop but his Daily Olympics in Tokyo series was shared virally on social media, which showcased perfectly-timed daily life and routines in the city amidst all the anxiety of the Olympics. Tatler Hong Kong chats with Hogan about his work, the inspiration for the series and life in Japan.
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Tell us more about yourself.
I’m an Australian from Melbourne [and] I work in Tokyo as a full-time freelance illustrator. I love living and working in Tokyo, which has been my home for the past eight years. I really like the way illustration is used in a lot of daily life in Japan such as in character designs, illustrations for public advertising among many others and wanted to be a part of it.
I moved to Japan as I wanted an overseas experience and the more I have lived and worked in Japan, the more I wanted to create a life for myself here. My own country, Australia, is in the Asia-Pacific Region, I think it’s really important that we get to know and understand our neighbours.
How did you start drawing?
I have always drawn since I was a child—first my father, who’s an architect, taught me some of the basics and then I went on to keep doing it at university and then a lot of daily practice on the train and at home.
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