Jean Jullien’s New NANZUKA Show Tends to the Inner Child in Us All

Summary

Jean Jullien is set to unveil JUJU’s Castle at NANZUKA ART INSTITUTE in Shanghai.
Opening July 12, the exhibition will present over 80 paintings, sculptures, art objects and installations as viewers embark on an immersive, imaginary quest through the depths of Jullien’s pastel maze.

In just a few days, French artist Jean Jullien will open JUJU’s Castle at Shanghai’s NANZUKA ART INSTITUTE, marking his first solo exhibition in China. Equal parts art show and “dungeon crawl,” as Jullien describes, the showcase features over 80 new paintings, sculptures, objects and large-scale installations, immersing viewers in the artist’s whimsical inner worlds.

Staged in a pastel-hued maze, visitors are cast as players in an imaginary quest, starting their journey by selecting one of four original characters to play as before embarking on the depths of JUJU’s Castle — a place born from Jullien’s childhood memories and lifelong love of fantasy.

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Created during his stay in Tokyo, the featured paintings draw heavily from his life in the Japanese capital: scenes of busy roads and buildings that kiss the sky, the neon-lit screens of gesen racing games and epic clashes between nights and samurai. “Here it seems to me that fantasy has found myriad ways to invade reality, enhancing it, making it more dreamlike,” noted Jullien. “This enchanted everyday seems like the perfect resistance to modern life.”

As with all of Jullien’s work, the show blends sincerity, nostalgia and joy with a profound concept of tranquility and escapism. The idea behind the castle emerged from sifting through his uncle’s captain of hand-painted RPG miniatures as a kid, enchanted by the magic-wielding, dragon-slaying adventures they’d play out on-screen – a mental refuge he’s held onto ever since. “Years later, as the world seems more and more dire, I’ve decided to visit Juju’s castle once more, and open its doors to the public.”