A boy called Paul lived in Nottingham.
Paul loved making clothes and was known around town for it.
He rode his favourite bicycle everywhere.
One day, a visitor from the city came to see Paul.
‘Would you like to put on a show?’ they asked.
Paul decided to go to the city and put on the show.
He climbed onto his favourite bicycle and set off.
As he rode, Paul thought,
‘If I see a bunny along the way, the show is sure to be a success.’
CRASH! Something crossed the road in front of Paul.
Startled, he lost control of his bicycle.
‘Ow, ow, ow… What was that? A bunny?’
Paul was curious. He got off his bicycle and ran after it.
At last he reached a place called Bunny Land.
Humans were not allowed inside.
Just then, another visitor arrived.
It was TAROUT, a character artist.
‘Hello, Paul! What happened?’ TAROUT asked.
Paul told TAROUT everything that had happened.
Paul asked TAROUT why he was there.
TAROUT had no idea, but quickly replied
that he had come to look for inspiration for an exhibition.
‘That’s it! Humans can’t enter Bunny Land. Leave it to me!’
TAROUT began turning Paul into a character.
‘Ta-da! What do you think?’ TAROUT said proudly.
Paul muttered, ‘Is this really cool…?’
‘I know!’ said Paul.
He decided to add a little twist. Mumble, mumble…
‘How about this?’ said Paul.
‘Wow, Paul, I like it! But now it isn’t a P. It’s a b for bunny!’
And that was how Bunny Paul was born.
Hello, Bunny Paul!
‘I’ll tell you something good!’ TAROUT continued.
‘The Lucky Bunnies who live in Bunny Land are called Lunnys. They’re very shy.
The more Lunnys you meet, the luckier you become.’
And so Bunny Paul and TAROUT stepped into Bunny Land.
What could be waiting for them there?
Bunny Paul and TAROUT set off,
each in search of something.
As Bunny Paul walked along, he heard a small sound.
The sound came from the Lunnys, Bunny Land’s shy Lucky Bunnies.
One Lunny failed to get away and tumbled down in front of Bunny Paul!
Bunny Paul hurried over and tied a ribbon around the Lunny.
The Lunny brightened up and stopped fidgeting.
‘What is the thing you’re looking for like?’ the Lunny asked.
‘It had a sweet, flowery scent,’ Bunny Paul replied.
‘Then Flowerplay might hold a clue!’
The Lunny led him to where Flowerplay was taking place.
‘Now then, what am I going to do?’ said TAROUT.
He had talked about putting on an exhibition and finding inspiration,
but he had no idea where to begin.
Then a lovely floral scent drifted towards TAROUT.
‘Wow, that smells wonderful! I’ll follow it!’
TAROUT set off, following the scent of the flowers.
He arrived at the square in the centre of Bunny Land.
There, Bunny Paul and TAROUT met again.
‘Hello, Paul!’ ‘Hello, Taro!’
Flowerplay was taking place in the square.
In Flowerplay, the flowers of Bunny Land are sent into the sky like fireworks.
As the two enjoyed their first Flowerplay,
the Lunnys asked, ‘Would you like to make some too?’
Each of them made a Flowerplay in his own way.
Both looked very pleased with themselves.
So, whose Flowerplay should they launch?
‘BANG!’ Bunny Paul’s Flowerplay launched beautifully.
The two were thrilled.
But… TAROUT seemed to be getting a little too carried away again.
‘THUD!’
When TAROUT pulled the launch cord,
his overfilled Flowerplay burst and spilled a great heap of seeds.
There were seeds everywhere.
‘CRASH!’
TAROUT got so carried away
that he plunged straight into a pile of flower seeds.
Seeds scattered everywhere.
The two pulled themselves together
and set off once more in search of what they were looking for.
As Bunny Paul continued his search,
rain suddenly began to fall.
‘This is bad!’ He hurried on.
Wandering without a plan, TAROUT arrived at a cheerful-looking valley
called Balloon Valley.
Then the rain came, and Balloon Valley had to close.
‘Oh, I’m not having much luck today…’ TAROUT sighed.
Then Bunny Paul came across a crowd of crying baby Lunnys.
Their tears were the rain.
There were so many babies that it was hard to tell one from another.
The Lunnys at Balloon Valley were in trouble.
Because of the rain, they could not use the long pump that inflated the balloons.
‘Right, I’ll show them what I can do!’ thought TAROUT.
TAROUT blew up the balloons with a puff from his proud trunk.
‘Amazing, Taro!’ The Lunnys were delighted.
Bunny Paul listened to the cry of each baby Lunny.
Then, thinking about each little personality, he began making something.
TAROUT stretched out his proud trunk and switched on the pump.
‘Amazing, Taro!’ The Lunnys were delighted.
‘Heh heh heh.’ TAROUT was feeling very pleased with himself.
‘M-y-y-y trunk comes in handy!’
* TAROUT may have a curious shape, but he is a little elephant.
Bunny Paul made bibs for the baby Lunnys.
Fifty of them! They were all siblings — all fifty of them!
The babies put on their bibs and stopped crying. The rain stopped too.
TAROUT got carried away again
and inflated balloon after balloon. Before he knew it, the rain had stopped.
‘Right! Let’s reopen Balloon Valley!’
‘What is the thing you’re looking for like?’ Mother Lunny asked.
‘It sparkled like a star,’ Bunny Paul replied.
‘Then there may be a clue up on the mountain!’
But Bunny Paul was now rather exhausted.
‘Hello, Paul!’ TAROUT was flying through the sky with the balloons
when he spotted an exhausted Bunny Paul.
‘Come on, let’s head for the top of the mountain together!’
The two joined hands and headed up the mountain.
At last, the two reached the top of the mountain.
The Lunnys were gathering there and preparing some sort of party.
The rain had only just stopped, so everyone was rushing to get ready.
As the two looked around,
they saw all the sweets that were part of every Bunny Land celebration.
They had eaten nothing all day and were completely exhausted.
They took just one little bite of a sweet.
It was more delicious than anything they had tasted before!
TAROUT could not resist and ate one sweet after another.
The two decided to resist. But they were truly exhausted.
At last, hungry and weak, they both collapsed.
Meanwhile, the party preparations were complete.
All that remained was for the rain clouds to clear.
Then Bunny Paul noticed something odd about TAROUT.
‘Taro, what’s wrong?’
After a while, the two woke up.
The party was ready, and a Lunny was using a long pump
to send air into the sky and blow away the clouds.
‘PFFFFFFFFT!’
All those sweets had upset TAROUT’s stomach,
and he let out an enormous fart!
A tremendous wind rose.
The great wind blew the clouds farther and farther away.
Then beautiful stars appeared in the sky.
‘Wow! What beautiful stars!’
Bunny Paul and TAROUT were speechless at their beauty.
It was the night of O-Chikyumi, a Bunny Land party
to celebrate the glittering stars.
The two enjoyed O-Chikyumi for a long time.
They had not found what they were looking for, but both felt completely content.
Before long, they fell asleep.
And then morning came.
A single flower petal fluttered down to Paul.
It was a rose petal, carried on the wind from the Flowerplay in the square.
‘This is it! This is what I’ve been looking for!’
said Bunny Paul.
‘What I’ve been looking for must be in the square!’
Bunny Paul and TAROUT hurried back.
The square was still covered in morning mist,
and roses were blooming everywhere.
Rain had fallen on the seeds TAROUT had scattered.
Bathed in light, they had bloomed overnight.
Among the roses stood a beautiful woman.
Her name was Pauline.
‘Yes. You’re the one I was looking for!’
The two shyly held hands.
Pauline gave Bunny Paul a rose.
They were very happy.
‘By the way…’ said Bunny Paul.
‘Taro, did you find inspiration for your exhibition?’
TAROUT suddenly remembered.
‘Oh no! I haven’t found anything, and I haven’t done a thing to prepare my exhibition!’
* This is a true story.
Bunny Paul said,
‘You can find inspiration in anything.’
‘But there’s nothing!’ cried TAROUT. Bunny Paul continued,
‘If you can’t find it, turn round and look again.’
TAROUT turned round.
There, behind him, were all the things that had happened in Bunny Land.
‘It’s true! The world is so full of inspiration!’
Then TAROUT understood.
‘This is my exhibition!’
MY JOURNEY WALL
CONTINUE THE STORYArtwork descriptions (0)
Descriptions of the works shown on this wall, in story order.
‘Paul! Look behind you! There’s a rainbow!’
A great rainbow had appeared behind them.
‘A new day is beginning!’
Bunny Paul said,
‘Did you know? There is a light of hope beyond the rainbow.’
Come on, everyone — let’s cross the rainbow!
To you on the other side of the rainbow.
Welcome to Bunny Land!
The End.
Map of Bunny Land
We hear that the fifty baby Lunnys have grown up,
each with a personality of their own.
Paul Smith’s achievements since then need no introduction.
Far beyond fashion, he brings love, happiness and humour
to everything he creates and everyone he works with.
With great respect, I dedicate BUNNY PAUL to Paul Smith.
THE WHOLE WALL
Artwork descriptions (80)
Descriptions of the works shown on this wall, in story order.
- TAROUT, a little elephant, peering through a white window.
- TAROUT holding a red book titled ‘WINTER TIME STORY’.
- TAROUT hurrying down the steps of a house with a yellow door.
- TAROUT setting off from an open yellow door.
- TAROUT reaching towards a closed yellow door.
- A framed portrait of the young Paul in a blue jacket and red bow tie.
- The young Paul making clothes with fabric beside the adult Paul.
- The young Paul looking surprised as a visitor in a top hat speaks to him.
- The young Paul setting off on his bicycle.
- Paul cycling past signs reading ‘BUNNY’ and ‘Please Drive Carefully’.
- A riderless bicycle tipped over at an angle.
- Paul running quickly forwards.
- Signs reading ‘NO HUMAN BEINGS’ and ‘BUNNY LAND’ standing in green grass.
- TAROUT and Paul standing together by the Bunny Land sign.
- TAROUT and Paul standing face to face and talking.
- TAROUT and Paul quietly facing one another.
- Paul looking startled after being dressed as a black character.
- TAROUT proudly presenting Paul in his black character costume.
- Paul seen from behind in his black character costume on a white background.
- Bunny Paul and TAROUT on a blue background, identified by handwritten arrows.
- Bunny Paul peering upside down into a pink picture.
- Bunny Paul running past an arrow sign for ‘BUNNY LAND’.
- Bunny Paul and TAROUT seen from behind, looking towards an arrow sign in green Bunny Land.
- Bunny Paul tumbling through the air with a Lunny on a yellow background.
- Bunny Paul hurrying towards a ribbon-wearing Lunny on a pink background.
- A close-up of Bunny Paul holding an orange flower.
- TAROUT beneath a question mark on an aqua background.
- TAROUT following floating flowers across a pale-blue background.
- Bunny Paul and TAROUT raising their arms in greeting on an orange background.
- Flowers filling the sky above the silhouettes of Bunny Paul and TAROUT.
- TAROUT pulling a launch cord while Bunny Paul holds a striped Flowerplay on a yellow background.
- Bunny Paul and TAROUT flying through a vivid pink field of flowers.
- A number artwork with a red ‘10’ and the words ‘BUNNY LAND’.
- TAROUT puffing out his cheeks as flower seeds scatter around him on grey.
- TAROUT peering out from a heap of colourful seeds on an aqua background.
- Bunny Paul and TAROUT moving as if dancing beneath clouds in an orange sky.
- Bunny Paul hurrying through a grey scene filled with blue raindrops.
- TAROUT in the rain, looking at signs for ‘BALLOON VALLEY’ and ‘CLOSED BECAUSE OF RAIN’.
- A repeating pattern of many baby Lunnys shedding tears.
- Bunny Paul and TAROUT beside a long yellow pump in rainy Balloon Valley.
- TAROUT using his long trunk to inflate a large white balloon on yellow.
- A close-up of Bunny Paul leaning close to a baby Lunny on pink.
- A number artwork with a blue ‘20’ and the words ‘BUNNY LAND’.
- TAROUT operating a yellow pump hose at the blue Balloon Valley stall.
- TAROUT standing on blue beneath the large word ‘NOSE!!’.
- A yellow pattern of fifty baby Lunnys wearing bibs in different colours.
- TAROUT, Bunny Paul and the Lunnys surrounded by colourful balloons.
- A tired-looking Bunny Paul gazing at two stars on a purple background.
- Bunny Paul and TAROUT flying through a starry blue sky with many balloons.
- Lunnys carrying food and decorations as they prepare a party on a green hilltop.
- Bunny Paul and TAROUT looking across tables filled with cakes and cupcakes.
- TAROUT eating one sweet after another in a yellow pattern of treats.
- A number artwork with a yellow ‘30’ and the words ‘BUNNY LAND’.
- Bunny Paul and TAROUT collapsing with dizzy eyes on a vivid pink background.
- A close-up of TAROUT raising one arm with an uncomfortable expression on red.
- Bunny Paul and a Lunny beside a looping yellow pump hose beneath grey clouds.
- A great white gust bursting beside TAROUT on an orange background.
- Bunny Paul and TAROUT smiling beneath a wide purple night sky.
- The silhouettes of Bunny Paul and TAROUT on a hill, gazing at the stars and Earth.
- Bunny Paul and TAROUT dancing among speech bubbles on a deep-green background.
- A ‘Paul Smith × TAROUT BUNNY PAUL’ mug against multicoloured horizontal stripes.
- A close-up of Bunny Paul as a rose petal touches his face on green.
- A number artwork with a pink ‘40’ and the words ‘BUNNY LAND’.
- Two silhouettes looking up at a field of pink roses and flying petals.
- Bunny Paul and TAROUT running energetically on a pale-green background.
- Pauline standing among red and pink roses in a blue morning mist.
- Pauline and Bunny Paul holding hands on pink beside a vase of red roses.
- Pauline and Bunny Paul smiling together with a single red rose on green.
- Bunny Paul and TAROUT talking face to face on a blue background.
- Bunny Paul and TAROUT between white surprise marks on a coral-pink background.
- Paul Smith’s words ‘you can find inspiration in everything’ and ‘and if you can’t, look again’ above TAROUT’s face on black.
- A close-up of TAROUT against multicoloured stripes with the words ‘now i can find inspiration in everything’.
- A number artwork with a green ‘50’ and the words ‘BUNNY LAND’.
- A close-up of Bunny Paul and TAROUT smiling together on blue.
- Five Bunny Paul figures standing beneath two rainbows on white.
- Bunny Paul, TAROUT and the Lunnys leaping together among bursts of rainbow-coloured stars.
- An ending artwork with multicoloured stripes, the characters, and the words ‘BUNNY PAUL Welcome to the BUNNY LAND!’.
- A detailed map of Bunny Land filled with a rainbow, mountains, forests, roses, balloons, Lunnys and landmarks.
- Fifty grown-up Lunnys with different clothes and belongings arranged in a yellow grid.
- A close-up of Bunny Paul smiling gently on a grey background.
BUNNY PAUL / 2011–2012
BEYOND THE STORY
BUNNY PAUL was an exhibition of work by TAROUT, organised by Paul Smith Japan and held at Paul Smith SPACE Gallery in Jingumae, Tokyo, from 3 December 2011 to 9 January 2012.
It began with a story TAROUT heard from Paul Smith Japan about Paul Smith, a bunny and good luck. TAROUT wondered: what if Paul really had found the bunny? The pictures joined to form a story with several paths, and at the original exhibition they were framed and displayed together as an art wall.
This Web edition invites you to walk through all 80 artworks and the story once again.