It's beautiful because it's a by-product of what you love. What is "Koroichi" that author Shishi Okabe loves?
The colorful world depicted by artist Yukihito Okabe. But did you know that these works are actually "by-products"?
He creates his artworks by painting with crayons to create surfaces, then scraping them off with a needle to erase the color, collecting the resulting crayon shavings and playing with them like clay.
In fact, the mass of scraps he collects is his true work of art. He calls it "Koroichi."
Let's take a peek at the artist, Okabe Shishi, at work.
The process of creating Koroichi
Collect the colorful shavings that are produced when painting with crayons.
Carefully knead and roll with your hands.
Gather all the scraps together and make one lump.
By repeating this process over and over again, Koroichi will gradually grow bigger.
The materials for Koroichi can be gathered with incredible concentration.
Sometimes I scrape the crayon off with a needle and collect the residue with the tip of the needle.
When you apply crayon to a canvas, you can collect the residue that comes out with the tip of the crayon or directly with your fingers.
They collect every last bit of crayon residue from their fingers (that gets stuck between their fingerprints). It's a very delicate job, but they must concentrate with incredible concentration to collect every last bit.
They even use their fingers to collect the scraps that will become the material for making Koroichi directly from the tip of the crayon.
In this way, the materials for Koroichi are carefully collected using all sorts of methods, and the "resulting painting" is simply the leftover scraps, something that Okabe himself has no interest in. Also, because it is a work born from the process of creating Koroichi, unlike ordinary artworks, the work does not actually have a "top and bottom" (up and down).
And every day, various types of Koroichi are produced.
It's amazing how something so useless to him can be so beautiful and touch people's hearts.
There is almost no intention to paint beautifully in these paintings. They are paintings that were unintentionally released into the world as a by-product. Okabe appears to have no unnecessary intentions, and to simply follow his own feelings of "fun/comfort" in the process of creating Koroichi. This is exactly what makes Okabe Shishi unique. Perhaps it is the reason why he moves us so deeply.
The daily life of writer Okabe Shishi.
When the camera is pointed at Okabe,
"Say cheese! Smile!"
There is a routine where they give a peace sign and shout out in a lively voice. 
Even while filming the video, he held up the finished Koroichi and showed it to the camera, saying, "Say cheese! Smile!"
When one of Okabe's works is used in a HERALBONY item, a photo of her wearing the item and saying "Say cheese!" with a big smile is sent to the HERALBONY staff via the welfare facility or her family. This kind of interaction with artists is one of the major driving forces behind us.
Okabe Shishi's original drawings and Koroichi will be appearing at Roppongi Hills.
These original artworks, born as a "by-product of what he loves," and "Koroichi," which is his true work, will be available to see at the Roppongi POP UP STORE, which will open on Friday, December 8, 2023. This is a rare opportunity to see the original artworks as well as the real Koroichi up close. *The exhibition has now ended.
This will be the first time that his latest work, "Scratch Works Sep 2023," created in 2023, will be unveiled. His representative work, "Hoo! Hey!", will not be for sale, but this new work will be available for purchase at the HERALBONY online store in addition to being exhibited. *Sold
Okabe's popular works have been sent to a variety of people in previous exhibitions. One of their charms is that his style changes depending on the period in which he painted them. You can see the change in the way he paints colors when compared to "Hoo! Hey!", which he painted in 2011.
A special movie has now been released, giving a glimpse into the production process. Don't miss the original drawings and special movie that show Okabe Shishi's current state.
▼Tap the image to watch the video
Yukihito Okabe
Currently enrolled at Kibo no Sono ( Mie Prefecture)
Born in 1994. Has autism. Currently enrolled at Matsusaka Challenged Place Kibo no Sono. He creates artworks by coloring with crayons, scraping them with a needle to erase the color, and then collecting the resulting crayon shavings, which he plays with like clay. Recently, he has expanded his creative methods, adding poster colors to crayons on boards or canvases, coloring the surfaces, and then scraping them with a needle. In fact, the lumps formed by collecting these shavings (which he calls "koroichi") are his true works; the resulting paintings are merely scraps he has not found interesting.
