Hamilton Yokota, who goes by the graffiti handle Titi Freak, is a São Paulo native with Japanese ancestry. His street art murals combine traditional Japanese art styles with the abstract art that is often found in South America. Not only does he fuse art styles from both Brazil and Japan, he has also created Brazilian-styled wall murals in Tokyo, and Japanese-styled paintings in Brazil.
His favorite painting style appears to be one that mimics the elegant brushwork of Japanese calligraphy and ink painting. Just as in Japanese calligraphy, Titi Freak starts his line very thick, almost a blotch of black paint before tapering it in a smooth arc until it finally peters out. The effect is elegant and beautiful and it’s a far cry from the quick-and-nasty tagging styles of yesteryear. But what it truly extraordinary about this style is that Yokota has to have incredible control with his spray can. In order to achieve such beautiful line-work, his hand mustn’t tremble while he changes the amount of pressure that he puts on the spray cap.
Yokota adds visual interest to his street art works with colorful patterns and geometric shapes. The simplicity of these textures appeals to the human brain, which constantly seeks peace amongst the chaos of life. Visit Titi Freak’s website or Facebook page for more pictures of his street art and gallery art.
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- Street artist Titi Freak gives a fantail goldfish a Japanese twist. In this photo, we can see his use of calligraphic styles.
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- A bulky sumo wrestler wears Titi Freak’s street art style in this mural on a garage door. Yokota has an excellent eye for color – often, he uses only a handful of shades in a street art mural, which add to the understated elegance of his works.
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- Brazilian Japanese street artist Titi Freak paints the Brazilian embassy in Tokyo
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- South American figures and styles are apparent in this street art mural by Titi Freak
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- Japanese Koi fish decorate this wall in Sao Paulo thanks to Brazilian Japanese street artist Titi Freak, Yokota seems to enjoy koi fish as subject matter for his murals. This is probably because the curving lines of the fish as they swim work well with the curving lines of his painting style.
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- Street artist Titi Freak gives this mural of two fish texture with geometric shapes and patterns
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- Titi Freak offers his unique art style to this street art portrait of a woman
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- Titi Freak combines Japanese art styles with Brazilian colors in this street art mural of a giant fish. The fish’s whiskers are testament to Titi Freak’s control with a spray can, as they taper and curve beautifully, without any shakiness or blotchiness.
