Hong Kong ( CNN ) -- This is not worksafe . It 's a hyperlink to Hiropon , the pornographic fiberglass creation of Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami . To spare you the mouse click , here 's the description . Hiropon is an anime-type character with monstrously huge lactating breasts that are spilling out of her bikini . She is both sick and ridiculous , a sculpture that -- I will admit -- makes me wince and laugh at the same time . This supersized fantasy figurine sold at an auction in 2002 for $ 427,500 and helped transform Murakami into a globally recognized art-world rock star . So when I sat down to interview the artist at the Gagosian Gallery in Hong Kong , I had to ask him what the hardcore Hiropon was all about . Was it a work of social satire ? Was he criticizing anime culture by exposing its often lustful portrayal of women as objects ? Not at all , says Murakami . It 's just a celebration of his teen years as a self-described otaku . `` I became an otaku when I was in high school and absorbed many different things from anime like its erotic and fantasy elements ... that very process resulted in that work , '' he says , adding that his art is about finding his true self . Takashi Murakami is one of Asia 's hottest contemporary artists and an international art-world phenomenon . He 's known for an approach called `` superflat '' -- a technique that combines high art and anime , while employing flat planes of color . The superflat movement propelled Murakami to fame in the 1990s and eventually caught the eye of designer Marc Jacobs . In 2002 , Jacobs , as creative director of Louis Vuitton , collaborated with Murakami to update the traditional LV logo . The handbag collection became a defining accessory of the decade . Murakami made his mark in a decade of excess marked by bling , botox and Big Brother . But even in that era of gloss and luxury spin , he used his superflat language to bare his innermost feelings and urges . There 's an honesty to his work , however plastic or shiny they appear . So Hiropon , along with his other otaku fantasies in fiberglass like Miss Ko2 , is what it is -- an adolescent wet dream made real . Even Murakami 's dazzling use of color comes from a true awkward moment of his past -- a teenage desire to please the hot girl in class . `` When I was doing painting as a freshman in university , an older female student came and told me that I severely lacked a sense of color , '' says Murakami . `` It just so happened that her boyfriend was known for his outstanding sense of color . '' `` You can imagine , as I was hoping to make a living as a painter , how upset that comment made me ! From that day on , I started studying the fundamentals of color . '' A desire to please led to a love of dazzling color and his signature psychedelic color palette . A geeky love of sci-fi led to his universe of superflat creations like Mr. DOB , smiley-faced flowers and colorful mushrooms . And a willingness to bare his anime-fueled fantasies -- no matter how grotesque -- led to his super-sized figurines . If you happen to be in Hong Kong , you can get up close and personal with Murakami 's work at his latest exhibition , `` Flowers & Skulls , '' at the Gagosian Hong Kong now until February 9 . ( Just look out for all the carefully-rendered nose hairs in his superflat self-portraits featured in the video above . )
Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami creates erotic , fantasy art with anime influence . His `` superflat '' approach combines high art , anime and flat planes of color . He uses a lot of different techniques to create his works : he paints on canvas using brushes or paint pots ; he draws in pencil or charcoal ; he sculpts clay into various shapes ( usually human )