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All auctions / Sports & Leisure / Æ (XX-XXI) - Jiji: Tales from Distant Places (2026) –...
BUNDLE!! You are bidding on a set of 3 original mixed-media artworks from Æ’s Jiji Collection, bringing together the mysterious charm of the iconic black cat with travel, literature and dreamlike encounters across Cairo, Japan and Pisa. Each artwork is individually hand-finished, hand-signed and numbered from a limited edition of only 4 unique variations. ◉ Total size: 37 × 66 cm. Three artworks, each measuring 37 × 22 cm. ◉ Original mixed-media artworks by artist Æ. Limited edition of only 4 unique variations. ◉ Individually hand-finished using spray paint and pastel crayons. Each artwork is hand-signed and numbered. ◉ Authenticated by a holographic security seal on the included Certificate of Authenticity. ◉ Created on acid-free Hahnemühle rice paper for Sumi-e (Japanese black-ink painting), ensuring archival standards. ◉ Individually registered with a unique ID corresponding to the artist’s official catalogue. Tales from Distant Places This set of three presents Jiji as a wandering figure moving between ancient landscapes, Japanese literature and European streets, creating a miniature visual travelogue in which geography, memory and imagination overlap. In the first composition, Jiji appears against the monumental landscape of Cairo, framed by the Great Sphinx and pyramids. Wearing a pharaonic-inspired headdress, the small black cat becomes an unlikely traveller through antiquity, creating a playful contrast between Jiji’s intimate scale and the permanence of Egypt’s ancient monuments. The central artwork moves away from architecture and into a quieter, distinctly Japanese world. Beneath falling blossoms, Jiji balances upon a stack of books featuring references to celebrated Japanese literature. The image transforms the journey from a physical voyage into an imaginary journey through stories, language and memory. Here, books become landscapes of their own. The final composition transports Jiji to the narrow historic streets of Pisa, with the Leaning Tower rising dramatically in the distance. Dressed as an elegant little traveller, Jiji sits among old façades, flowers, bicycles and luggage, as though pausing for a portrait during an eccentric Grand Tour. Together, the three artworks suggest that travel can take many forms: through places, through history and through books. Cairo represents the ancient world, the central composition turns inward toward Japanese culture and literature, while Pisa evokes the romance of wandering through an unfamiliar European city. Rather than functioning as conventional character illustrations, the works reinterpret Jiji through Æ’s distinctive monochrome, print-inspired visual language. Dense blacks, fine cross-hatching, distressed surfaces and irregular ink textures recall Japanese illustrated books, antique engravings, vintage manga and aged printed ephemera. The contrast between the intensely black silhouette of Jiji and the intricate architectural and botanical backgrounds creates a strong visual rhythm across the three works. Despite their different settings, the recurring character unifies the triptych into a single narrative about curiosity, discovery, solitude and imagination. The deliberately weathered appearance gives the works the character of rediscovered illustrations from an unknown travel book, while their unexpected combination of Japanese popular imagery, classical landmarks and literary references places them firmly within Æ’s contemporary visual universe. About the artist Artist and designer Æ (Spain, b. 1977) holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Digital Design and Multimedia Technologies (Barcelona, 2004) and a Bachelor’s Degree in East Asian Studies. He has been creating and experimenting since an early age with the visual language of 1980s computer graphics, developing his own aesthetic influenced by minimalism, conceptual art, Japanese culture and skateboard graphics. His artworks can now be found in private collections in more than 30 countries worldwide, from the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy to Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Collectors appreciate the distinctive and immediately recognizable character of Æ’s work. Æ’s artwork is characterized by a spare, minimalist visual language, using a restrained palette, strong contrasts and carefully selected imagery to convey complex emotions and ideas. Stark black-and-white compositions emphasize the dialogue between light and darkness, familiarity and mystery, nostalgia and imagination. Æ’s work was the subject of a review by respected exhibition art curator Thierry Fournier (Artnoises): “Collected AE (XX), it comes down to wanting, breaking, transgressing, an invisible border, to merging the civilizational DNA of the future and the past, looking down and in the same second, rocking! the work becomes a ticket, a simple ‘go!’ for an emotional teleportation that we live and see in ‘Black and white’! Æ2381 pushes you to jump into a void, in fact, populated with images, symbols, unexplored signs that propels us to a Real Timeless!” — T. Fournier (Artnoises) ★★★★★ All photographs represent the artworks as accurately as possible. Slight variations may occur due to differences in lighting and monitor settings. Immediate shipping after payment, with appropriate insurance and tracking. Please do not hesitate to contact me for any additional information. The frame shown in presentation photographs, if present, is for display and framing inspiration only and is not included. Combined shipping is available when purchasing multiple artworks to help minimize shipping costs. We are a PRO and TOP seller with 100% positive feedback, so you can bid with confidence. Every artwork is carefully packed, and special extras are included with this lot.
Estimate:£4.26
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Estimate:
£4.26
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