Through Iketaku's roots in graffiti, he often expresses his frustrations with himself and his surroundings in pop art. Iketaku is known for his grotesque pop art style while focusing on the theme of "the relationship between Japanese people's honne and tatemae (true feelings and public behaviours)" through sculptures, illustrations and paintings.
As a Japanese Gen Z, Iketaku has experienced a period of instability in Japanese society and feels anxiety about the future and fear of natural disasters. Therefore, he creates aggressive and grotesque works as a protest against this invisible fear. Iketaku believes this rebellious spirit against absurdity comes from the inner vitality of breaking down the frustration and gloomy circumstances held in the back of his mind.
Although Iketaku's work is mostly classified as grotesque, it appears kawaii at first glance as well. This unique style is based on his perception of pop art as the tatemae and the grotesque as the honne, and his way of expressing the irony towards the silent majority of Japanese people who harbour dissatisfaction and anger towards this repressed society but never actually act on it.
With the development of social media and a growing awareness of diversity, Iketaku feels that more and more people are becoming more hesitant to speak out and make conversation. Therefore, he hopes to create a dialogue and a connection with the viewer using a physical medium such as a non-digital sculpture.
