An art critic once told Hikaru Cho that body painting has no history, nothing to anchor itself to the long pantheon of Great Artists Doing Important Things. Hikaru—an artist revered from New York to Tokyo for her ability to transform people into flowers or fish with a flick of her paintbrush—flatly disagrees.
“Using your imagination to question your perception is fun and important,” she says. “When we get stuck in the same point of view, our imagination shrinks, and so does empathy. Words become literal, and people become numbers.” Determined to shift the narrative surrounding body painting, Hikaru creates designs that are so hyperreal they lurch into surrealism, encouraging her audience to do a double take and question what they think they saw.
Challenging the status quo is second nature for Hikaru, whose Chinese parents raised her in Japan, a country with restricted birthright citizenship. Despite being born and brought up in Tokyo, Hikaru holds only a Chinese passport, a tangible symbol of the legal and cultural boundaries that shape her identity. “With the political climate between Japan and China, I have seen my fair share of discrimination,” Hikaru says. “I never felt like I fit into either side; I was too Chinese for Japan and too Japanese for China. That built a foundation of my work where I often question what is considered ‘normal.’”
Hikaru’s curiosity fuels her desire to push back against glib narratives and exhausting social norms. For her, each piece is an invitation to experience art in a new way, one that transcends traditional definitions and fosters a deeper appreciation for diverse bodies, identities, and forms of expression. “Broadening our perspective is something we must intentionally keep doing,” she says. “That’s why I always incorporate optical illusion and whimsicalness into my work; I want the reward of the viewer to challenge their perception to be something interesting and entertaining.”
Scroll through to read our interview with Hikaru Cho, then head to our January 2025 exhibition, Out of Body: New Narratives in Figurative Art, to see her submission, "Intimate.”
In Today’s Q+Art Interview…
Hikaru Cho discusses the irresistible lure of a “big sheet of paper,” why she goes to the supermarket for creative inspiration, and what she keeps in her studio when she’s ready for a break.
What’s your favorite creative ritual?
Hikaru Cho: Make coffee, put on musical songs, and have a big sheet of paper to draw all the ideas.
If you were a fictional character, who would you be?
HC: Bella Baxter from Poor Things.
Can you describe your creative process when it comes to body painting and incorporating optical illusions? What inspires you during this process?
HC: It usually starts with a theme or idea. I might think of a cool optical illusion to paint and then try to come up with a theme that fits the painting or the other way around. I sometimes go to a supermarket to look at a bunch of things and find something that inspires me.
What’s something you keep in your studio that would surprise us?
HC: I go back and forth between Tokyo and New York, so it’s hard to have good studio space, but I usually have a video game set nearby when I want to take a break.
How do you maintain a work/life balance?
HC: I also work as a designer, which I have a different work style for. That really helps in figuring out when to switch gears. I do design in the morning and art stuff in the afternoon.
In your artist statement, you mention using your international background as a theme in your art. Can you elaborate on how your experiences shape your art and the messages you aim to convey?
HC: I never quite fit into the norm. I wasn’t typical “Chinese” or “Japanese,” I wasn’t girly, I didn’t like boys. That built a foundation in me to always question the status quo.
Tell us about your favorite books. How do they inform or influence your work?
HC: Sekai Ga Kanzen Ni Shikouteishi Suru Maeni by Tatsuya Mori (the title roughly translates to “before the world stops thinking”). It’s a series of essays talking about how the “norm” in our society is made. It’s a great reminder to always question what we are used to, which is often the core message of my work.
What upcoming projects or exhibitions are you currently working on, and how do you envision them evolving in your art journey?
HC: I am working on a new book that is coming out in January. I have been publishing a lot of children’s books in the past few years. It is a great way to have a tangible product and timeline in a hectic art journey. It also pushes me to try different methods while obtaining my core practice of using imagination to question our perception.
Hikaru Cho: Website | Instagram
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. All photos published with permission of the Hikaru Cho; featured photo: “Blind.”