When you look at NKSIN’s portraits, it’s clear that he’s a perfectionist. Inspired by '90s American cartoons, he spray-paints actors, musicians and painters – all icons who created the culture of their time. The ultra-stylised black-and-white paintings look almost digital. Every gradient is flawlessly blended. Every edge is perfectly crisp. But despite this alluring sense of cohesion, the portraits represent something much more fractured – society. Growing up in a Japanese Filipino household, NKSIN often felt deeply frustrated that his community didn't embrace his biracial background. His work uses these personal experiences as a starting point to look at all forms of discrimination in the modern world.
