Did you know that the name Johnnie Walker sounds similar to a Cantonese phrase for prosperity and wealth? The likeness in pronunciation might be one of the reasons why, in Chinese culture, the whisky brand is a symbol of good luck, used to celebrate during festive periods — just like the Lunar New Year.
As we roll into 2024, the Year of the Dragon, Johnnie Walker Blue Label is bringing nothing but good energy with an exciting new bottle design, perfect for gifting and drinking, with Asian-American artist James Jean. The design behind the bottle is a contemporary and dynamic take on 2024’s Zodiac animal, the noble Wood Dragon. In Chinese culture, the dragon is a symbol of power, life, and creativity, as well as being a portent of future prosperity. With the goal of creating a dragon that felt new and innovative, but that also respected the past while looking to the future with optimism, Jean wanted to connect his artwork with Johnnie Walker’s ‘Keep Walking’ spirit.
With an artistic style totally unique to himself, Jean’s work is hard to miss. Think bright colors, wavy forms, and organic compositions. Known for his ability to work across different genres with an imaginative approach to image making, Jean fuses modern subjects with aesthetic techniques inspired by traditional Chinese scroll paintings, Japanese woodblock prints, and Renaissance portraiture. “Evolved from traditional depictions of Chinese dragons, my dragon is composed of flowers and organic elements, from which tendrils and arching lines emerge, evoking the idea of roots and connection. I want the viewer to peel back the layers and discover more about the image. I want my work to function from far away but reveal more details the more closely you explore the imagery,” says Jean.
The blend comprises some of the rarest whiskies from the brand’s reserves of maturing Scotch, including some irreplaceable casks sourced from long-closed ‘ghost’ distilleries. Pretty much everything about this bottle is special, so let’s go behind the scenes and find out more.
What was your initial reaction when you were approached for this project?
Early on in my career, I did a lot of commercial illustration, but since then, I’ve been focused on my fine art, I prefer to work with brands as an artist and have a more integrated collaboration. So, for this project, this is what sparked my interest, and obviously very exciting that it was for Year of the Dragon.
The Year of the Dragon is also rich in symbolism and tradition in China and Taiwan. How did you incorporate these cultural elements into your design, and what aspects of it did you find most inspiring?
Well some would consider the dragon the most powerful animal in the Chinese zodiac. The Wood Dragon was very close to, you know, my own personal interest because of all the organic natural elements in my body of work. You know the idea of a tree branching out and the roots alluding to heritage, history, and family, so the shape of my dragon is unlike any traditional depiction of one in Chinese culture.
What interesting bits can you pick out and talk to us about?
There's a lot of little things and secrets going on! I included chrysanthemums flowing like golden nectar, referring to Johnnie Walker whisky. We have hummingbirds, which are a signature motif in my work, that are sipping on the nectar deep in the background. These exploding elements in the background look like flowers but are meant to also look like fireworks. The idea of growth and renewal from using these natural elements is really important to me.
Returning to the start, what was the process like bringing two identities (JW and yourself) together?
From the brand side, there were a lot of evocative words, textures, and reference images that really helped me build my story. It's all very emotional and helps me create all these elements in my brain, which then seep into the drawings. It’s hard to break down inspiration because that comes from a place beyond words. There's always a lot of erasing and redrawing. It's almost like sculpting an image out of the air, but those original keywords really helped to create this dragon in my mind.
So, the tagline for JW Blue Label is about incredible depth of flavor. What does depth mean to you?
I love the idea of layers. I want my paintings to of function from far away, but then, as you get closer, you uncover more details. I like to include a lot of layered meanings and references that might not be immediately evident, so that’s how I express depth. Technically, I also like to think that I go deep in terms of using traditional methods and incorporating them with new media like drawing on an iPad or using Photoshop.
What does the Lunar New Year mean to you?
I have faint memories of the Lunar New Year growing up on the East Coast after being born in Taipei. We used to make dumplings, and as a kid, we got those red envelopes; it was all very exciting. This project was a little bittersweet because, you know, this dragon is about connections and roots, and growing up in the US, I always felt very disconnected from my roots. This left a sense of alienation that I think creates this feeling of loss, possibly giving my work a more poetic feeling. At the same time, this project brings back a lot of memories for me, maintaining tradition and returning to my origins.
How have you celebrated Lunar New Year with friends in recent years?
I rarely celebrate it these days, being so far away from my family, but I would like to celebrate it more. I have an eight-year-old son who is more attuned to the Japanese side from his mother, so I want to introduce him to more Chinese culture in the future!
What does a day in the life of James Jean look like?
I’m up at 6:30 to walk the dog. I get my son to school and then head to the studio to meet my assistants. We have lunch, we work, I pick my son up, and then go back to work. I have dinner at home and put my son to bed — I read to him every night. I walk the dog and return to work around 9 until usually really late.
What drives you daily when it comes to your craft?
There's the old saying that you can't wait for inspiration to hit you. Talent is the ability to persevere through all the mundane things. What keeps me excited is being able to jump between different types of activities.
Can you describe your artistic style in three words?
Lyrical, narrative, and surreal.
What themes do you always come back to in your work?
Art history and the creativity of indigenous cultures and costumes fascinate me. I always look to the past for inspiration. I feel like I'm carrying on this long lineage of creativity and this natural, intuitive impulse to draw, create, and put things out in the world. You can see these same types of impulses in different mediums, from contemporary art and cave drawings to comic books and animations. As you get older, it's important to unlearn to regain your intuitive sense of creativity.
What advice would you give to young designers out there?
Trust your intuition. That’s how you create work that feels fresh.
What would you be wishing people for the year to come?
For the Year of the Dragon, I think we need to bring in a sense of renewal and create things from all the destruction that's been happening. Having come out of the pandemic, everyone expected it to be like the Roaring Twenties, but I think we're still contending with the damage from that time and trying to find our way in a chaotic world.
Find out more about the Johnnie Walker Blue Label x James Jean bottle design here.
