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There are more than a million hikikomori in Japan. A hikikomori is a person – often a young man – with social phobia who refuses to leave their home. A disorder that inspired the French painter Ymane Chabi-Gara.
Locked up in their homes, the hikikomori renounce all social interaction. They remain secluded at least 6 months in their home. In Japan, young men are mostly affected by this disorder.
According to the CNRS psychologist and psychoanalyst, Natacha Vellut, the phenomenon appeared in the 90s when the economic crisis and the rise of new technologies hit Japan simultaneously.
If they refuse to come out of their homes, it is not out of rebellion or out of a claim,”on the contrary” explains the psychologist: “They’re more like people withdrawn.”
As part of the exhibition “Des Corps Libres”, supported by the Reiffers Art Initiatives Foundation, which takes place until May 31 at the Studio des Acacias, the painter Ymane Chabi-Gara honors the hikikomori in his paintings.
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