When I Close My Eyes, I See Shangri-la 2012

Takashi Murakami made When I Close My Eyes, I See Shangri-la using flat colour and repeating motifs. Looking at this flower-power explosion, I’m struck by the sheer density. The surface is totally covered, like wallpaper, or a digital screen filled with emojis. The shapes are clean and crisp, almost too perfect, which gives the whole thing a slightly unreal, manufactured feeling. These aren’t your garden-variety daises; they're like hyper-real cartoons, each with a beaming, vacant smile. There’s one right in the middle, a dark reddish brown that really pops. It’s like the artist placed it there to anchor the composition. Murakami reminds me of someone like Warhol, taking accessible imagery and cranking it up to eleven. Is it a celebration or a critique? Maybe it’s both, and that's what makes it interesting.