The Style Sheet

Image

27 July 2026

add share

Interview: juju Creator CJ Hendry

Australian artist CJ Hendry has become known for transforming meticulous hand-drawn artworks into joyful, immersive experiences. Now based in New York, she first gained international recognition for her hyper-realistic drawings before expanding her practice into public installations that invite visitors to step inside her imaginative worlds.

Video

This summer, Pacific Place welcomes Hong Kong’s first-ever juju world, bringing Hendry’s much-loved collectable character to life through immersive installations, interactive experiences and exclusive merchandise.

To mark juju's biggest adventure yet, The Style Sheet speaks to the artist about the evolution of the plush character, the joy of creating worlds people can explore, and what visitors can look forward to.

The Style Sheet: For those discovering your work for the first time, how would you describe what you do?

CJ Hendry: I’m a hyper-realistic artist. I create drawings that look like photos and, now, evolve into immersive worlds. At my core, I’m still about drawing — that’s where I started, and it’ll always be a part of me. But eventually I stopped being satisfied with just putting a piece on a wall. Now I build entire worlds out of that same obsession with detail, so instead of just looking at something, you can walk into it and experience it.

Yes, your projects often go far beyond traditional exhibitions — they do feel playful, immersive and like worlds people can step inside. Why is inviting people into a sense of wonder important to you?

I’ve been in the art world for many years, and something has always felt slightly disconnected from real people. I’d make these drawings, and they’d go off to collectors’ homes where almost nobody else would ever see them. That gap bothered me, so now I try to build things everyone can walk into — can come and touch.

juju has become one of your most recognisable creations. How did the character first come to life, and what does juju represent to you personally?

juju really came from wanting to create something that could exist beyond a drawing or an exhibition — something people could actually hold, collect and take home with them. juju is strange and playful and a little bit unexpected, which is probably why I love it so much. The flower over the eye became this instantly recognisable part of the character, but juju has also grown into this much bigger world with its own personality. For me, it represents curiosity and not taking things too seriously. There are no real rules with juju, and creatively that’s incredibly freeing.

What has it been like watching juju grow beyond its original form?

Once juju existed as this little object with its own following, keeping it that small just stopped making sense to me. That’s always been the pattern in my career — drawings stopped feeling like enough because I never wanted the work boxed in by a wall. When I created juju and realised the popularity, I saw an opportunity. Turning it into a whole world wasn’t a clever marketing move — it was just the obvious next step.

Pacific Place is hosting the first immersive juju world experience. How did you approach translating juju into a physical world?

We leaned into three distinct moments instead of one big spectacle: a huge sculptural centrepiece, a mirrored infinity room that makes the world feel endless, and a room where you’re basically swallowed up by hundreds of juju plushies. It’s about giving people a few completely different feelings within the same world.

What excites you most about bringing juju world to Hong Kong, and what do you think makes Pacific Place the ideal venue?

Hong Kong has played an important role in my art journey. I’d already done a few projects here that mattered a lot to me, so this isn’t a new market for me, it’s more like a homecoming. Pacific Place, being right in the middle of everything in the city — very accessible — felt like the right stage to finally give juju the space to become a proper world here.

Alongside the installation, visitors will also discover exclusive juju collectables and accessories. Why was it important to create pieces that people can take home as part of the experience?

I’ve always loved the idea of creating an interactive experience that brings joy to people. That’s really what juju is about at its heart: joy, playfulness and not taking itself too seriously. The collectable pieces extend that moment beyond the space, allowing them to take a piece of it home. It’s less about the object itself and more about what it holds: a memory, a feeling, a sense of joy. Ideally, every time they come across it again, it reconnects them to that experience — something beautiful, familiar and quietly uplifting.

What else can visitors look forward to from juju’s appearance at Pacific Place this summer?

There are nine juju colourways that only exist here, designed around the city’s own energy, plus five secret editions as a surprise! Beyond that, people can build their own one-of-a-kind juju through the accessory capsule machines, so no two visitors walk away with quite the same one. At the centre is the juju Planet — it’s big, colourful and a little surreal, with these oversized characters kind of bringing the whole thing to life. You can walk straight into it and end up in the juju Room, which is filled with hundreds of plushies, so it feels soft and slightly overwhelming in a good way. And the Infinity Mirror element stretches the world out endlessly. It’s all meant to feel playful and a bit unexpected, something you just step into and experience for yourself.

juju world is on display at Pacific Place until 16 August. Click here to learn more.

The Style Sheet

Interview: juju Creator CJ Hendry

Category