Yuka Hirac: Makeup Between the Strange and the Surreal
Photography by Idan Barazani
Interview by James ElliottAs often is the case in the world of art, rules are often made to be broken, and when it comes to Tokyo-based makeup artist Yuka Hirac, this adage has never been more apt. Since returning to Japan from London in 2013, the Fukuoka-born artist has made it her obsession to find alternative means of expression, fusing her skills in makeup with surreal comedy and performative art that subverts what the fashion industry has come to expect. It’s a unique style that has seen her collaborate with the likes of Dazed, Vogue Japan, Undercover and Ambush, bringing a surrealist and eccentric edge to every new project.
With the emergence of the global pandemic in 2020, Hirac decided to engage in a new form of creativity, taking up photography for the first time to produce a 52-day diary documenting the bizarre and colourful designs she devised during lockdowns. It was raw, rough and beautifully punk, acting more like a psychedelic stream of consciousness that forcibly pushed her creative vision in a new and interesting direction.
Since then, Hirac has gone on to produce numerous photo books and exhibitions, establishing herself as not only a creative who can execute when it comes to fashion editorials, but as an artist in her own right who is setting new trends and tastes for the creative scenes in Tokyo. Her world is bold, brash and unflinchingly honest—a revelatory relic for the weird and wonderful crowds.
In the wake of her latest photo book release jajaja… Phantasy spoke to Hirac about her visual fetishes and how the process of reincarnation inspired her newest work.
Phantasy: Hi Yuka, thank you so much for talking to us today! Could you tell us about your first experience with makeup?
Yuka: I was three years old, and I think it was for a traditional celebration called “seven-five-three”. We dress in kimonos when children turn three, five and seven years old to celebrate. It’s a traditional thing. For me, that was my first experience with makeup.
Phantasy: You’re style isn’t exactly what most people would imagine when they think of makeup: it’s fun, expressive, surreal and often absurd. How did you arrive at this current style?
Yuka: I’m not sure exactly, but I think there are many influences. One big influence was when I encountered performance art and contemporary dance while living in London from 2006 to 2013. The performances and human body expressions I saw at that time influenced me with a surreal sense of humour that is unique to London.
As for fashion, I originally became interested in it because I loved seeing and hearing about the worldviews and designer philosophies in collections, editorial photographs and videos. So that may have influenced me, too. For now, I focus more deeply on personal things than I used to. I value my fetishes.
Phantasy: Your style is so wide-ranging, from bold textures and patterns to creepy eyelashes reminiscent of insects, but if you had to pinpoint your signature motif, what do you think it would be? What unites all of your different creations?
Yuka: Weird, surreal, cult, experimental. Among them all, the most important thing is to finding a balance between the strange and the surreal.
Phantasy: I know you have a personal instagram account [@33bgraham] that acts almost like a mood board or visual diary of sorts. Why did you start this account, and what do you think you learned about your taste from this experience?
Yuka: [The photos on this account] are like my own notes and I want to make a note of anything interesting that I come across. I’ve been able to identify things that I like, and fetishes I didn’t realise I had. I also use it as a reference material from time to time!
Phantasy: Let’s talk about your books. Since the pandemic, you have created a number of photo books that are conceptual, DIY and very punk in their aesthetic. Often, makeup artists do commercial jobs or dream of being in a Vogue editorial, but you decided to take another route. What was the motivation for entering this medium?
Yuka: I do also like the masculine elegance of Vogue magazine’s editorials! However, the way I express myself in my phonebooks is completely different. Because at its core, I don’t want to express fashion. It’s DIY, and it’s more in line with my own personal aesthetic.
My first book was really a record of makeup. I wanted to record conceptual makeup just on its own. It began in the midst of the pandemic when I really had to stay at home and take my own photos. I didn’t have much money, so I learned how to edit and just started doing it. But that was the trigger for a lot of discoveries. By starting to edit myself, I started to enjoy thinking about how to shoot the finished version of the makeup, and I started to enjoy shooting interesting backgrounds. Rather than just show the makeup, I wanted to make the photos look like they were cut directly from a video, and I really enjoyed thinking about makeup that could achieve that.
It’s so much fun to see how the meaning of makeup can change just by changing the way it’s presented, and it’s broadened my range of expression. My motivation for starting to make these books was simply to record things, but now it’s one of my favourite times. It allows me to be myself.
52 days visual diary
My creation rubbish
Phantasy: Your books have been sold in The Four Eyed, one of the cultural hotspots in Tokyo, known for fostering a strong youth scene filled with die-hard fashion lovers and creatives. How do you feel about the current creative scene? Are there any exciting brands or creators that you want to shout out?
Yuka: Regarding the current scene, I feel that there are a lot of talented people all over the world. I’m influenced by Asian cultures and people, such as Thailand and China, just as much as Tokyo! There are so many inspiring brands and creators that I can’t decide!
jajaja…
“I think the wabi-sabi aesthetic, which values imperfection and weathering, is very beautiful and has had a huge influence on me. I also like the philosophical aspect of it, which values things which cannot be seen. I’m also influenced by subculture items such as love dolls, figurines and cosplay. ”
Phantasy: Who was your favourite makeup artist growing up? Or if not a makeup artist, an artist in general?
Yuka: Katsuya Kamo, Inge Grognard, Matthew Barney, Chris Cunningham, and Marina Abramović.
Phantasy: Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book jajaja…? What was the theme and concept? How was the process of making this book different from your others?
Yuka: jajaja… was created based on a dream of a revolving lantern that one experiences after death. It imagines the process of repeated reincarnation until enlightenment. It is said that when a person dies, they look back at their life like a revolving lantern. I imagined the life I would look back on when I died, overlaid it with what I have seen so far, and imagined what I would want in the next life. In the revolving lantern, I first looked back on my life and realised that I have laughed a lot. But when I was laughing with someone, it seemed like I was laughing with someone else. It could be a genuine laugh or even a fake laugh. The orange-haired girl who appears in the book is a symbol of myself from before, and by mixing various faces, I express myself when I’m with someone.
The process of making the book itself hasn't changed much from before, but I wanted to express the feeling that time was moving and stopping a little, so I edited it like a video. I also made it only in Japanese because I wanted to value the words of the story, so I only used Japanese, my native language.
jajaja…
Phantasy: What is your dream for the future?
Yuka: My current dream is to collaborate more with artists. I also want to hold many exhibitions of my own projects. When I turn 65, I want to start making films. I want to write a novel someday. And then I want to be a fish in my next life!
Phantasy: Here at Phantasy, we love stories such as folktales, cinema and novels. Could you let us in on some of your favourites?
Yuka: The myth of Narcissus, Fantastic Planet (1973), The Pillow Book (1996) and Shiki-Jitsu (2000).
