Artwork Description
ComplexCon x Dobtopus Octopus Deck Set Fine Art Limited Edition Archival Pigment Print Transfer on Natural Skateboard Deck by Street Artwork Graffiti Artist Takashi Murakami TM/KK.
2017 Set of 3. Released at ComplexCon in 2017, the Takashi Murakami Octopus Skate Deck Set features Murakami's well-known Octopus motif in a 3-deck set, which forms one cohesive image when displayed side by side. This deck set was released on November 4th, 2017.
ComplexCon x Dobtopus Octopus Deck Set by Takashi Murakami: Character Power in Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork
The ComplexCon x Dobtopus Octopus Deck Set by Takashi Murakami is a fine art limited edition release created in collaboration with ComplexCon in 2017. This set of three 8 x 31 inch natural wood skateboard decks features a single archival pigment print that spans across all three panels to create one unified composition. Released on November 4, 2017, the deck set captures Murakami’s colorful and character-driven visual language in a format that connects the worlds of commercial art, collectible design, and subversive culture. With bold colors, sharp linework, and surreal detailing, the Dobtopus motif illustrates Murakami’s ability to merge mythology, manga, and merchandise into a cohesive statement within Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork. This piece features a fragmentary and playful depiction of Murakami’s octopus variation of Mr. Dob, a recurring mascot-like character in his work. The octopus form adds a layer of whimsy and monstrous appeal, with swirling eyes, jagged teeth, and tentacles rendered in soft gradients and saturated linework. Circular motifs and exaggerated facial expressions are scattered across the image, contributing to the disorienting, multi-eyed aesthetic that is signature to Murakami’s practice. Each deck panel becomes a slice of chaos and delight, emphasizing the creature’s multiple personalities and uncontainable energy. The natural wood background allows the hyper-color design to float atop the surface, creating a unique tension between material tradition and visual excess.
ComplexCon as a Platform for Art, Culture, and Urban Identity
Released during ComplexCon, an annual cultural event that unites fashion, music, art, and design, this deck set exemplifies Murakami’s role as a conduit between fine art and popular street movements. Rather than isolating his work within the confines of the gallery, Murakami expands its presence through accessible formats and cross-industry collaborations. At ComplexCon, where hype culture and contemporary art collide, this deck served as a statement piece—grounded in the tradition of limited-edition streetwear drops but elevated by the conceptual depth and visual heritage of the artist. By producing this work as a triptych on skate decks, Murakami ensures that it functions both as wall art and cultural object. Skate decks remain a revered medium in Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork due to their duality: utilitarian tools reimagined as art surfaces. Here, they become the perfect canvas for Murakami’s explosive visual grammar, further cementing the decks' place in the aesthetic lexicon of modern counterculture.
Character Culture and Emotional Spectacle in Murakami’s Visual Language
Murakami’s use of the Dobtopus character speaks to his obsession with emotional exaggeration, facial mutation, and hybrid identities. The octopus-like figure, rendered with concentric eyes and wide, almost mechanical grins, disrupts traditional character expectations. It functions not just as a mascot but as a reflection of media saturation, information overload, and the fluidity of identity. By spreading the design across three decks, Murakami plays with fragmentation and unity—the viewer must step back to comprehend the full image, echoing how contemporary society often experiences clarity only through collective focus. These attributes are central to the sensibility of Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork. The visual overload, aggressive whimsy, and layered messaging parallel the techniques of urban artists who plaster cityscapes with characters and tags designed to provoke and remain. Murakami’s work, although more polished and refined, maintains that urgency and bite. His characters, especially Dob, have become contemporary totems—both playful and unsettling, cute and chaotic.
Murakami’s Global Impact and Skate Art as Cultural Archive
Takashi Murakami, born in Japan in 1962, continues to shape the international landscape of Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork by leveraging both traditional artistry and mass production. The ComplexCon x Dobtopus Octopus Deck Set is a crystallization of his career-long commitment to visual storytelling that operates on multiple levels. It is a collector’s piece, a pop spectacle, and a philosophical mirror all at once. With its 2017 release, it has become part of a larger archive of objects that document how artists challenge and transform the meaning of materials, characters, and cultural value. This deck set does not merely display an image—it encapsulates Murakami’s fusion of animation, anxiety, and spirituality into a surface that was once meant for rebellion and sport. The Dobtopus swims through flames of attention and noise, reasserting the power of the image in motionless form. Murakami reminds viewers that even the most commercial objects can become sacred, saturated with color, humor, and a carefully calculated chaos that never stops watching.
