Hellohikimori — Paris, France

"In the creative world, we are all challenging each other, and that is a good motivation for all of us. We are all doing the same job, with different perspectives, and that is incredibly constructive."

Hellohikimori (HKI) was founded in 2004 by Nathalie Melato and David Ronhel. The name literally means “pulling away” or “being confined”, i.e. the acute social withdrawal that is on a rising trend in Japan, where reclusive people have chosen to withdraw from social life, often seeking extreme degrees of isolation and confinement because of various personal and social factors in their lives. The word “hikimori” applies to both the sociological phenomenon in general and to the people belonging to this societal group.