Dutch artist Tymen Visser paints life in Tokyo

Date
21 September 2016

Artist Tymen Visser finds his inspiration in a simple appreciation of the every day. Although he was born in the Netherlands, since 2010 Tymen has lived in Tokyo. He became fascinated with the city after learning of his parents’ visits to Japan in the 70s, nearly a decade before he was born. Tymen continues to be interested and inspired by Japan’s relationship with his home country of Holland, and the historic influence of the Dutch on Japanese culture.

In places, Tymen’s characters are achingly Dutch — flower girls wearing white aprons and bibs paired with starched bonnets. Elsewhere, Tymen’s work circles around the duality found in Tokyo and its people — “old and a new, tranquilly and chaos, high-tech and analogue” — with characteristically Japanese scenes — railway workers wearing white gloves and helmets, or a “ball” of roaring tigers.

Tymen’s distinctive style, executed in primary colours with heavy black outlines to create bold, simplistic images manages to neatly knit the contrasting cultural influences together.

Of his work, Tymen says that he aims to “liberate the icon, leaving only the essentials”.

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Tymen Visser

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Tymen Visser

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Tymen Visser

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Tymen Visser

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About the Author

Bryony Stone

Bryony joined It's Nice That as Deputy Editor in August 2016, following roles at Mother, Secret Cinema, LAW, Rollacoaster and Wonderland. She later became Acting Editor at It's Nice That, before leaving in late 2018.

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