Current Exhibitions - Gus Fisher Gallery

Current Exhibitions - Gus Fisher Gallery

11 January â€“ 2 February 2013

Japan: Kingdom of Characters

For someone with the most basic of features â€“ and indeed, no mouth at all â€“ Hello Kitty, the animated Japanese cat created by toy company Sanrio in 1974, is able to express any number of emotions as she adorns everything from childrenâ€™s toys to household appliances.

While the pink cat is the most recognisable outside Japan, sheâ€™s just one of thousands of characters that have permeated Japanese life since the end of World War II, from manga comics and books, television, movies and computer games to everyday products, street signs and even medical supplies.

In recent years, a subculture related to Japanese anime and manga has rapidly attracted world-wide attention. To make the most of this trend, the Japan Foundation has organized this traveling exhibition called Japan: Kingdom of Characters which examines characters as one radical aspect of this subculture.

Organised in decades, Japan: Kingdom of Characters builds a continual picture of how the Japanese character phenomenon has developed from the 1950s and â€˜60s through to now. The exhibition includes giant inflatable characters, anime figurines and toys and the recreation of a teenage girlâ€™s bedroom in Japan, infused with Hello Kitty.

In this exhibition, as we introduce the intimate relationship between characters and Japanese people, we hope that the visitors will gain a better understanding of the cultural and historical background behind the Japanese love of characters as well as the future of characters in contemporary Japan - The Japan Foundation

Presented by the Japan Foundation and Tokyo Metropolitan Museum.

PUBLIC EVENTS

Saturday 12 January, 12pm
Associate Professor David Bell, University of Otago discusses the classic manga and anime character Astroboy in his talk "Astroboy: Transcultural Messenger of the Gods".

Following at 1pm, Film Screening: Astro Boy, a 2009 Hong Kong-American CGI action film loosely based on the long-running Japanese manga and anime series of the same name by Osamu Tezuka, 74 minutes.

Set in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he has lost. Unable to fulfill the grieving man's expectations, our hero embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, experiencing betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators, before he returns to save Metro City and reconcile with the father who had rejected him.

Saturday 19 January, 1pm
Join us for a screening of a selection of Japanese manga and anime programmes, suitable for all ages.

Saturday 26 January, 1pm
We will be taking a walk up to popular local store GNC: Graphic Novel CafÃ© to peruse their extensive range of anime and manga goods including DVDs, manga, art books, figurines, plushies, Plamodels, Deleter Manga tools and much more.

All exhibitions and events are free and take place at the Gus Fisher Gallery unless otherwise noted.

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