SNOW GLOBES BY HYOUE

Snow globes by Hyoue. I invite you to discover the creations of Hyoue Ishida, a Japanese snow globes artist that will not leave you indifferent.

I got to know Hyoue Ishida projects through Instagram. From the first moment they caught my attention for their modern and elegant workmanship and originality that gave their snowballs the different style that I appreciate so much. The professional career of Hyoue Ishida (Tokyo, 1966) has been linked to the world of cinema, architecture, the production of miniatures for films and commercial sets, and the audiovisual production on which he is currently focused. In 2016, he began creating snow globes with themes from his various fields of activity. His creations match aesthetics with the depth of experience they enclose and, at least for me, the result is really attractive.

The moment I discovered their creations I knew I wanted to dedicate a Quenieve post to them. And I have to say that for me it is a very special post. I contacted Hyoue Ishida through his website and he was kind enough to answer some questions about his projects. Thank you Hyoue!!!

Talking to the artist

Question: Hyoue, you have extensive experience in film, architectural design, miniature production, video… which led you to choose snow globes as your creative territory.

Answer: “The reason I started making snow globes was because I was impressed by the work of an American artist. It was not a cheap snow globe sold as a souvenir, it was art. I had always worked in film art, so I was good at detailed work. However, I didn’t know how to make a snow globe, so I went to a snow globe class I found on the Internet and learned how to make one”.

– You create snow globes from scratch. Is there a phase of the process that you particularly enjoy?

. “I use 3D software to make my work, so I can render and simulate something close to the finished product. I enjoy adjusting the size and color in the process.”

– Your Edward Hopper-inspired snow globes series has been widely recognized. Why did you choose this celebrated American painter to bring him to your snow globes? Why did you choose this famous American painter to bring to your projects?

. First of all, it’s simple: I’m a fan of Edward Hopper. The reason why his paintings are so popular in Japan is probably because the composition and atmosphere of his works touch the hearts of Japanese people, and I am one of them. His paintings remind me some kind of history, so I came up with the idea of cutting them out and enclosing them in a glass sphere.

– Finally, any thoughts or ideas about snow globes that you’d like to share with people who also love these objects?

. I want to create something new, not something conventional. I also try to keep my expression as minimalist as possible, without being too decorative. I hope you enjoy my snow globes as much as I do.

The World of Edward Hopper

I confess my weakness for the series dedicated to the American painter of the twentieth century Edward Hopper who is also one of my favorites. Hopper usually portrays his characters in everyday interiors with marked plays of light and shadow, which speak to us of loneliness in modern cities. His paintings place us outside the scene, they take us away from the protagonists from whom emanates a halo of loneliness and mystery that makes us wonder what has led them to that situation. The fifteen snow globes created by Hyoue manage to generate those same sensations by recreating the main elements of the original. Here I have chosen Hotel Room starring a young woman sitting on the edge of the bed reading what is meant in the painting as a train guide. Her suitcase tells us about a trip, but is she coming or going?

Hopper also portrayed landscapes of the New England coast in which lighthouses, one of the motifs most dear to the painter, are almost never absent. Hyoue has also kept them in mind by recreating the play Lighthouse Hill in one of her snow globes.

These creations dedicated to Hopper have been considered by the Edward Hopper House in one of its #funartday and in 2021 the Ginza Tsutaya bookstore dedicated an exhibition to them in its premises.

Films as inspiration

Being related to the audiovisual world, it is logical that some of Hyoue ‘s snow globes are inspired by movies and series. When it comes to movies, the initial letter of the title is the main piece of the creation or at least a fundamental part of it.

The model on the left is inspired by Ridley Scott’s 1982 film Blade Runner, wich showed us with a dystopian vision of Los Angeles city in 2019. Three years later, some shots of the film are already part of our daily reality. In Hyoue ‘s creation, a large, deep red B and a futuristic spaceship are the central elements of the composition. Perhaps as a tribute to replicant Roy Batty’s final monologue: “I have seen things that you people would not believe. Attack ships on fire off shoulder of Orion ..”.

The snow globe in the center is inspired by Up in the air, a 2009 film by Jason Reitman . Its main character is a corporate downsizer. He constantly travels making staff layoffs and salary cuts to increase the profits of the companies he works for. He will end up wondering what life would be like in one place.

In the last image we see Hyoue‘s snow globe dedicated to one of the most famous series in the early nineties of the last century. It is enough to say “Who killed Laura Palmer” so that all of us who were adults in those years know that we are talking about the enigmatic Twin Peaks.  Created by David Lynch and Mark Frost it narrates a policeman’s obsession to find a murderer. Hyoue recreates the Red Room featuring an image of the Venus de Medici stands out next to a sofa. In the series, this room, also known as the waiting room, represents evil. The snow globe manages to evoke the unsetlling ambience that pervades the entire series.

Structures

In Structures, Hyoue‘s snow globes enclose complex geometric figures that evoke urban landscapes with a certain futuristic character. Almost all of them show us large pillars supporting what seem to be elevated highways whose shape, in many cases, is that of a number. However, to illustrate this series I have chosen two creations that do not fit this description: Crow-01 and Crow-02.

Black birds, ¿ravens? perched on traffic lights. They seem to observe the human life below, even the pair of birds seem to be commenting on what is going on below their gaze.

Hyoue‘s snow globes also include creations for merchandising from different companies. BMW, Globbe-Trotter or the Japanese fashion brand Jane Marple are some of them.

Do you like Hyoue‘s creations? You can follow him on Instagram (hyoue_artglobe), Facebook (hyoue213 ) and Twitter (@HyoueG). In all of them he shows us not only the final result but also the different moments of his creative process.

If you feel like it …

Here you can meet other creators and people who are professionally engaged in snow globes.

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