For the record, who/what is Piko Piko?

In Japanese "Piko Piko" means flashing light, motion, a type of pulse. I was looking for a cute name, a way to describe my work and the type of feeling that it may suggest. I use Piko Piko as a pen name, or as my tag, to obscure my identity for those times when I don't want to be known by my real name.

Your work has taken some drastic shifts throughout the years finally ending up with the current style you've been working with for the last 5 or so years. What brought you to this point?

Four years ago I discovered Yoshimoto Nara on a chance visit to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Nara had arranged a mess of drawings on scrap paper haphazardly taped to the wall. He had several characters that where often used in his work. I was so inspired by his work and I felt compelled to create some characters of my own. After much coffee and lots of nonstop drawing, the world of "Small and Round" was born.

Your work draws heavily on Japanese imagery. Is your work influenced by any other aspects of Japanese culture?

Japanese culture plays a large roll in my life and work. My wife is Japanese, and I would regard her as a major influence. We visited Japan to see her family and during that time I fell in love with the culture. Everything in Japan is based on aesthetics, relationships of form, color, and design. I was amazed at how space was organized, and when your dealing with limitations, such as space you must become creative. The pallet that I use reflects Japanese packaging, such as candy boxes, clothing, origami papers and stationary.

Are there any artistes out there who you would like to fight?

Fighting another artist would be a great thing to do. Most artists are all wrapped up in their own game and don't bother to really understand what the opposition is all about. The only way to settle things would be to take off your shirt and throw some punches, get some blood dripping from your mouth and watch your fellow artist rolling on the ground in pain. I would fight JulianSchnabe, he seems like a good choice with as much shit as he talks. Bring it on Bitch!

Sometimes you wear glasses and sometimes you don't. Why is this?

After going out all night and drinking massive quantities of beer, then doing several rounds of shots, I tell myself I will never drink again. But I have excepted the fact that I am a chronic alcoholic with the an intuitive sense of mischief. Through carefully alcohol fueled planning I have started several underground movements such as "The Naked Sponge Bath Bike-a-Thon" and the infamous GLOW FACTORY, a place where people never stop dancing, and our motto is "Take off you pants".

Be sure to visit www.smallandround.com