Pearl Lam Galleries: Lobsteropolis by Philip Colbert at M5 Gallery in Tokyo, Japan

Pearl Lam Galleries is pleased to present Lobsteropolis, an immersive pop-up exhibition by British artist Philip Colbert at M5 Gallery in Toyko, Japan. Colbert’s practice establishes a dialogue between contemporary mass culture and an art historical canon through the lens of his iconic lobster persona. His hyper-pop aesthetic intertwines everyday and digital symbolism with painterly compositions and contemporary art theory.

Colbert also follows the works of the early, formative pop-art artists, including Richard Hamilton, Roy Lichtenstein and James Rosenquist, and the techniques of the Old Masters such as Peter Paul Rubens. He works across disciplines, including painting, sculpture, furniture, design and digital art, with lobster iconography acting as a central protagonist.

To challenge the scale of a confined gallery space with kaleidoscopic floor and wall designs, Colbert’s diverse lobster personas embrace freedom in an uninhibited manner. By staging an imaginary dwelling of a marine crustacean, audiences can indulge themselves in a hyper-pop world of total fantasy.

With reference to pop symbols, he recycles these icons as a costume for the lobster in the Collaboration series, demonstrating art’s ability to constantly reinvent canonical works. While the Self-Portrait series revisits the classic idea of the artist holding a paintbrush and speaks to the existential angst involved when looking for meaning within the process of painting. The deeper you look, the more difficult it is to find and in turn, the more absurd it becomes.

Through the veneer of pop, colour and humour, Lobsteropolis pushes the limits of self-representation in a society of hyper-consumption, uplifting this gruelling activity beyond the ordinary self.