Dadu Shin x Artists Pages

It’s always been my ambition for artist-led collaborations to be a central pillar of how we celebrate and empower artists at Artists Pages.

I couldn't be more thrilled to announce our first limited collectible with artist Dadu Shin, whose mesmerising work has captivated me for quite some time.

Together, we're releasing a limited-edition t-shirt available for 14 days.

To mark this release, I spoke to Dadu about his process, the meaning behind the work at the centre of our collaboration, and his advice to emerging artists.

DADU SHIN X ARTISTS PAGES

Our first-ever collectible, Out of Sight, is a 14-day exclusive collaboration with renowned artist Dadu Shin. Known for his surreal, introspective style, Shin has worked with The New York Times, Penguin Random House, and more. This design reflects on climate anxiety — calm on the surface, yet charged with underlying tension. Available only on Everpress, this limited release marks the start of our artist-led collaborations, bringing you contemporary art to be collected.

In Conversation with Dadu Shin

What’s your earliest memory of creating art? Was there a particular moment that made you realise this was something you loved?

One of my very first memories of art in general is when I was very young and watched my grandfather plein air sketch. I still have a faint memory of his hand and pen slowly moving along the paper to create a mountain in the distance. As for memories of creating art, I have a memory of sitting with one of my friends at my desk and drawing Dragon Ball characters. I particularly remember going over how Akira Toriyama drew pants and attempting to accurately mimic his methods. Drawing was certainly a form of escapism for me and my love grew from that, but it was also a way for me to communicate with others. As a relatively lonely child, drawing brought me acknowledgement from those around me - my peers, parents, and teachers - and that meant a lot to me as a child.

Your piece Out of Sight is stunning. What sparked the idea for it, and what story or emotion are you hoping to convey?

Out of Sight is from a series in which the broad central theme is anxieties about the future. Like many others, I have certain fears around the increasingly volatile climate. However while many of us have these fears, it's one that not all of us are directly impacted by day to day, it's a much slower burn. It can be easy to close your eyes and feign calmness, even when potential disaster is right in front of you. Out of Sight is a visual representation of that thought. While the piece is overall somewhat peaceful due to the expression, I hope the lightning is a small reminder that climate change is happening whether we close our eyes or not. 

How do your ideas take shape? Can you walk me through your creative process — from that first spark of inspiration to the final piece?

Nothing happens until I put pencil to paper so I always try to start by sketching thumbnails. Sketching acts as a catalyst for my mind, and one loosely sketched idea can evolve into something more concrete and worth pursuing. Once I have something I want to actually bring to final, I start refining the sketch until it's reached a point in which I have a somewhat clear image of how to approach it in the final medium. Then I'll transfer the sketch or outline to paper and start working on the final piece.

DADU SHIN X ARTISTS PAGES

Out of Sight, is a 14-day exclusive collaboration with renowned artist Dadu Shin. Available in premium relaxed fit, made from 100% heavyweight organic cotton. Fair Wear, OEKO-TEX®, Vegan, GOTS approved and 220 gsm. Zero waste — made to order.

BUY NOW

You’ve developed such a distinct way of working with a single material. How did you first discover this approach, and what keeps drawing you back to it?

My ballpoint work started out as simple drawings in my sketchbook. I enjoyed the simplicity of the medium - monochromatic and unerasable. I thought about how soft I could make a drawing with a tool that was so sharp, and slowly moved into more complex and larger drawings in the medium. I told myself I would keep working with a ballpoint pen as long as I remained curious as to what I could achieve with the pen - could I work larger? More realistic? More abstract? Would I get satisfaction out of that? I'm still somewhat curious, but admittedly I find myself missing painting. I'm still thinking about what my work will look like this next year.

Every artist faces challenges. What has been the biggest struggle in your career so far, and how have you navigated it?

I feel lucky to say I haven't faced too many challenges artistically - beyond the typical artist block. Don't get me wrong, artist block is something I struggle with all the time, but it's definitely not unique to my experience - all artists deal with feeling uninspired. What I think challenges my art career the most is just life in general. Finances, health, anxiety, reclusiveness are just some of things I would point to being the real obstacles in an art career. The making of things is the easy part.

On the flip side, what’s been your most joyful or fulfilling moment as an artist? A time when you felt like, this is why I do this.

A long time ago, in the midst of trying to get my career off the ground and doing a lot of client driven work, I did a personal piece about the insomnia I had been experiencing. It was one of the first times a piece of my work elicited responses of personal stories and feelings of relating to one another. Having strangers relate to the thoughts and feelings I was putting into my work felt purposeful. 

If you could offer advice to emerging artists, what would it be? Something you wish you had known when you were starting out?

First, do not equate your self-worth with how much attention your work gets, or how much money you're making with art. Sure these can be important, but they ultimately do not reflect on anyone's quality as a human being.

Second, keep on making work and don't stop. It's very easy to go stale creatively. I think creativity is a muscle and it has to be exercised, and I don't mean just paint more if you're a painter. Exercising creativity can come in many forms. Watch movies, listen to music, try different mediums, or even just take a walk and observe your surroundings.

Third, learn to be objective about your own work. It can be hard to accept critiques, and sometimes they are wrong and useless. But, sometimes they're right and the artist has to accept that and improve. Work never gets better unless you accept and acknowledge where your work falls short. 

Do you have a wild, dream-big goal for your art? Something that might seem impossible now but that you’d love to make happen?

It's not really a wild dream, but I have been missing painting, so getting back into that has been on my mind lately. It would be lovely to start doing more gallery work whether it's drawing or painting. 

The "Out of Sight" T-Shirt

This limited-edition T-shirt is available for pre-order now in Black and White across a full range of sizes. Produced in partnership with Everpress — a platform committed to reducing waste through sustainable, pre-order-only production —each shirt is made to order and shipped worldwide for a limited time.

Thank you for your continued support ❤️

Imi, Founder of Artists Pages.