YUHO KAMO: MASTERING HAIR AT THE EDGE OF CHAOS
HAIRMASTER
With influences as disparate as video games and anime, horror and punk, Yuho Kamo’s work is an exercise in playing with extremes. An antidote to the slicked-back conventionality of his contemporaries, he has collaborated with musicians like Rina Sawayama, chi and p-rallel as well as with the likes of Heaven by Marc Jacobs, been featured in publications as lauded as i-D Japan and even released his own subversive zine, HAIRMASTER.
His work with collaborators and in his own editorial output is characterised by gravity-defying spikes, tufts of artificial strands and Beetlejuice bangs. What sets Kamo apart is his exclusive use of synthetic hair, cleverly intertwined with disconcerting CGI editing, such as in HAIRMASTER, or the Y2K cyber nostalgia employed by his musical collaborators.
Yuho Kamo constantly plays with convention. His styling goes against traditional notions of gender, beauty and even what is considered “good taste”, bringing a unique, one-of-a-kind vision of the possibilities of hair styling.
GATA got the chance to talk to the hairstylist, chatting about creative inspiration, the “grotesque”, the Top Gear Official Annual 2011 and what it means to work outside of the “norm”.
Photography by Éamonn Zeel Freel for Office Magazine
GATA: What has been your journey to become the hairstylist that you are today?
Yuho: In 2019, I moved to London. I started working as a hairstylist while working as a hairdresser for two years at the salon “My Snug Room.” Along with my friends Shinnosuke Nakashimo and Aya Kuraoka, the three of us started a new movement.
GATA: 現在のようなヘアスタイリストになるまでの道のりを教えてください。
Yuho: 2019年に、ロンドンに渡英します。Hair salon 「my snug room」で 2年間美容師をしながら、ヘアスタイリストを始めました。友達の Shinnosuke Nakashimo, Aya Kuraoka 3人で新しいムーブメントを起こしました。
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GATA: How would you describe your style?
Yuho: Something that is only one of a kind in the world, I suppose.
GATA: 自分のスタイルをどう表現しますか?
Yuho: 世界に1つしかないもの、ですかね。
GATA: Where do you find the most inspiration?
Yuho: By shutting out information.
GATA: 作品のインスピレーションはどのように得ているのですか?
Yuho: 情報をシャットアウトすることです。
GATA: How would you explain what some might consider "grotesque" in your work?
Yuho: I have a personality behind the scenes that is the complete opposite of my personality on the surface, I think that comes through in your work.
GATA: あなたの作品において、何人かが『グロテスク』と考えるかもしれないものをどのように説明しますか？
Yuho: 表面上の性格と真逆な性格が裏にあるので, それが作品に出てるんでしょうね。
GATA: Recently you’ve collaborated with different musicians (such as chi, p-rallel and John Carroll Kirby), do you feel that this medium alters your creative approach?
Yuho: I met these artists and creators while I was in London and felt right at home. It just feels so free [working with them.]
GATA: 最近、さまざまなミュージシャン(Chi、P-rallel、John Carrol Kirbyなど)とコラボして
いますが、この媒体があなたの創造的なアプローチを変えたと感じますか?
Yuho: アーティストやクリエイターとロンドンで出会って、自分の居心地の良さを感じました。とにかく自由です。
GATA: You’ve previously stated that Beast Wars: Transformers, the Top Gear Official Annual 2011 and WRC (World Rally Championship) are sources of inspiration. Is what is ostensibly considered to be “bad taste” an accurate description of your work?
Yuho: I am attracted to things that break, move violently, and are hard.
GATA: 以前『Beast Wars: Transformers』『Top Gear Official Annual 2011』、『WRC(世界ラリー選手権)』がインスピレーションの源だと言っていました. 表向きは 『Bad taste』とされていますが、カホさんの作品を正確に表現しているのでしょうか?
Yuho: 壊れたり、激しく動いたり、ハードなものに惹かれます。
GATA: My first reaction to your zine HAIRMASTER was to think of the aftermath of a child destroying a Barbie doll. Do you think that this kind of impulsive action informs your styling process?
Yuho: I tend to break things easily, haha. I often end up hurting the things and people I care about.
GATA: カモさんのZINE『HAIRMASTER』を読んで最初に感じたのは、子供がバービー人形を壊した後を思い浮かべたことでした。このような衝動的な行動が、あなたのスタイリング・プロセスに影響を与えていると思いますか?
Yuho: 僕はすぐ物を壊すので笑好きなもの、人に限って、傷つけてしまいがちです。
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GATA: The domestic setting of the photographs in HAIRMASTER was really interesting. Do you enjoy this juxtaposition between suburbia and horn-like spiked hair?
Yuho: It was around the time I was getting tired of the edgy, trendy fashion industry. Instead, I thought I’d create a sense of everyday life at home and around the house.
GATA: HAIRMASTER』の写真の家庭的な設定は実に興味深い。郊外と角のようなスパイクヘアのこの並置を楽しんでいますか?
Yuho: エッジの聞いた、モードなファッション業界に飽き飽きしていたころですね, 逆に家とか家の周りで日常感を出してやろうと思っていました。
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GATA: In your HAIRMASTER zine, one photograph was especially striking. It had the subtitle “The act of removing the limiters of home appliances and children’s toys and remodelling them into evil power monsters.” How do you think that your work achieves this ideal?
Yuho: My selfish desire to make the impossible a reality leads to works like this.
GATA:『HAIRMASTER』の中で、特に印象的だった写真があります。そこには、『家電や子供のおもちゃのリミッターを外して、邪悪なパワーモンスターに改造する行為 』というサブタイトルがついていました。あなたの作品は、この理想をどのように実現していると思いますか?
Yuho: ありえないことを実現したい、わがままな性格が、こんな作品になります。
GATA: Hair is often intrinsically tied to our own sense of beauty. What does beauty mean to you?
Yuho: It’s something that connects me to the world.
GATA: 髪はしばしば、私たち自身の美意識と本質的に結びついている。あなたにとって美とは何ですか?
Yuho: 世の中と僕を繋ぐものですね!
GATA: We’re huge fans of cinema; do you have any movies that you would like to recommend to our readers?
Yuho: The Cell (2000)
GATA: GATAは大の映画ファンですが、読者にお勧めの映画はありますか?
Yuho: The Cell (2000) です!