Aesthetipunk: The Product Design of Ikeuchi Hiroto

Japanese artist Ikeuchi Hiroto has drawn global attention for his meticulously crafted cyberpunk pieces, transforming everyday objects such as smart phones and 3M masks into brilliant, wearable art.

Not only does Ikeuchi’s work ride the bleeding-edge of cool, it can also be functional, utilizing VR and Bluetooth tech in a synthesis of style and utility. There are distinct echoes of William Gibson here, as well as the art of Otomo Katsuhiro and Shirō Masamune. Borrowing the cyberpunk aesthetics of these (and other) forerunners, Ikeuchi transcribes the printed word and 2D image within the physical world.

Ikeuchi has stated that his designs offer a commentary on privacy in the digital age: “I also find VR gives us the ability to protect ourselves from new threats such as face recognition by hiding our eyes,” he stated in an interview with CYBR magazine. In an era of mass surveillance (and a time of pandemic), a line of Ikeuchi-designed personal protective equipment can’t come soon enough.

Flash to the all-to-near future…

A blue haze of neon filters the toxic air. At the mouth of the rain-soaked alley, a wanted dissident walks with the hood of her jacket pulled over an Ikeuchi-Mark2 respirator. From one of her pockets, she removes a matte-black bottle of spray paint and tags the movement’s symbol on the crumbling wall. An overhead camera records her every move, its persona-recognition algorithms tearing through an ocean of precorded data. In the distance, sirens wail. By the time the drones arrive, she is already gone…

Whether in words or with plastic, there’s comfort in crafting the new. Artists like Ikeuchi remind us that the future is only as bleak as our response. We may not survive, but at least we have a chance to go out looking good.

Unfortunately for those of us in the present, Ikeuchi designs are hard to come by, sold primarily through galleries and by commission. You can stay current with his work via Instagram: @_ikeuchi.

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