From two seas, a story begins—and reaches us as a single blue swell. Gallery Belle Vie’s invited solo exhibition by Tocotoco Jin, <Tiare Azul>, begins there.
<Tiare Azul> is born from Tocotoco’s journey so far, carrying the breath of Tahiti and Portugal. Tiare is the name of a white flower native to the South Pacific, symbolizing the island of Tahiti where Tocotoco sought love and his source. The artist renders Tahiti’s passionate moments in vivid Polynesian hues, joined by Azul—Portugal’s blue. For the Portuguese poet and thinker Fernando Pessoa, Azul signifies more than a national color: it gestures toward dreams and ideals beyond reality. In this sense, <Tiare Azul> marks the encounter of two distinct cultures and an expansion of the Tocotoco universe.
With “Tocotoco”—a persona inspired by the toucan—as his alter ego, Tocotoco Jin shapes into art what he has seen and lived while traveling through life. Wearing “Toco Shoes” that can take him anywhere, Tocotoco roams the world; watching him, one can’t help but think of a fairy tale for adults. Adventure is always present on the artist’s canvas, and within that adventure dwell dreams and hope. Perhaps the reason so many hearts quicken at the sight of this unfamiliar bird is that, with time, we come to understand just how precious the freedom that adventure presupposes can be. And perhaps, too, we sense that the freedom Tocotoco speaks of is indebted to a steadfast love—one that creates a place to return to, and grants the courage to set off for anywhere. In this way, the playful expansion of a world that stretches from Tahiti to Portugal leaves a lingering resonance for viewers.
Presented at Gallery Belle Vie, <Tiare Azul> is the artist’s first solo exhibition in Seoul in two years, following an active practice in Singapore and beyond. Like Tocotoco and his friends returning home after traveling the world, we warmly welcome these new stories as they are finally unpacked before us.
