Okokume

Laura Mas Hernandez, known professionally as Okokume, is a Spanish contemporary artist. She is recognized for her character "Cosmic Girl," which features in many of her works.

Academic background and early career
Okokume was born in 1985 and raised in Mataró, Barcelona. In 2010, she earned a degree in Advertising Graphic Design from Llotja School of Art and Design, Barcelona.

Okokume's early figurative paintings were influenced by Impressionism; she painted women dressed in kimono and other Japanese accessories such as oil-paper umbrellas (Wasaga). Her early portraits show her enigmatic style, most notably distorted women's faces with holes, some with pink hair, and turquoise faces with a darker apocalyptic undertone.

The artworks of this period were met with international success, and exhibited in galleries such as Barcelona, Berlin, and Los Angeles in group exhibitions.

Lowbrow and Cosmic Girl
Okokume gradually started to work in a lowbrow style coupled with contemporary street styles, reflecting her passion for Japanese manga. In response to various struggles and concerns about the environment Okokume faced, she created Cosmic Girl, a pink-haired, turquoise-skinned spirit, who conveys the importance of protecting the environment and brings attention to various social causes.

Collaborations
In August 2019, Okokume opened Cosmic Girl Café, a collaborative project with artist Kasing Lung, in Harajuku, Tokyo. The opening of the café was held concurrently with the two artists’ collaborative exhibition, The Monsters, and the Cosmic Stars, in JPS Gallery Tokyo.

In 2022, Okokume collaborated with Hypebeans, a coffee shop with outlets in New York, Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong. The colors of Cosmic Girl were featured throughout the establishment through painting on tables and walls. She also presented graphic material that was used for the design of glasses, walls and T-shirts. An original painting, painted exclusively for this collaboration, was on view in the store. In response to this success, Hypebeans also featured Cosmic Girl in its food truck chain in Hong Kong.

In January 2023, the artist launched two successful collaborations. The first one was with the mobile case and accessory brand Casetify. Under the name "Our Feelings, " Okokume presented a capsule collection featuring cell phone cases, AirPod cases, chargers, iPad cases and AirTags with various designs of the artist's paintings. Casetify also sold a Premium box, with five cell phone cases that combined to form a single painting.

In addition, on January 24 Avant Arte (a community of artists who support young artists), launched a limited edition piece of 50 units, "Sumergidos". This was a silkscreen of 12 color screens, hand finished by the artist with acrylic paint and diamond dust, which was sold out in less than two hours.

Personal life
Okokume is an enthusiast of comics and Japanese popular culture and a follower of the Ghibli universe. The artist cites influence from Katsuhiro Ōtomo's Akira, which she first saw at the age of eight. Since 2018, Okokume has been actively collaborating with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. She has participated in numerous charity exhibitions and auctions, with profits donated to the foundation.

Books

 * "The Arrival of Cosmic Girl" (La llegada de Cosmic Girl), 2018.

Selected exhibitions

 * 2023
 * Art Central, Hong Kong. (Fair)
 * Origen, JPS Gallery Paris.
 * UVNT Art Fair, Madrid. (Fair)
 * Fronteras, L21 Gallery, Barcelona.
 * Art021, Shanghai. (Fair)
 * 2022
 * Art Central, Hong Kong. (Fair)
 * Bon Jour Paris, Paris, France. (Group Exhibition)
 * Utopia, JPS Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan.
 * Bespoke x Okokume, Landmark Atrium, Hong Kong
 * 2021
 * Reality, JPS Area 36, Tokyo, Japan
 * Inside, JPS Gallery, Hong Kong
 * 2018
 * The Arrival of Cosmic Girl, JPS Gallery, K11 Art Space, Hong Kong
 * 2017
 * Cosmic World, JPS Gallery, Hong Kong
 * 2015
 * Ikimono, Open Walls Gallery, Berlin, Germany
 * 2013
 * Okokume, Mar de Cava Gallery, Barcelona, Spain

Selected articles

 * Harper's Bazzar Hong Kong, 2018
 * Hypebeast, 2018
 * MilK Magazine, 2018
 * Esquire Hong Kong, 2020
 * Diari Ara, 2021
 * Ecos de Asia, 2021
 * Art and Piece, 2021
 * Yorokobu, 2022
 * Trendy Style, 2022
 * El Periódico de Aragon, 2022