A World is Born: Emerging Arts & Designs in 1980s Japanese Animation

Showcasing the little-known, playful creation process of animation art production, A World Is Born: Emerging Arts and Designs in 1980s Japanese Animation exhibition will feature a collection of animation pre-production materials from Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise (1987), one of the representative works from 1980s Japanese animation. Artists featured in this exhibition include MAEDA Mahiro (The Animatrix, 2003), OGURA Hiromasa (Ghost in the Shell, 1995) as well as founding members of Gainax, ANNO Hideaki (Neon Genesis Evangelion, 1995-1996), YAMAGA Hiroyuki (Mahoromatic, 2001) and SADAMOTO Yoshiyuki (Wolf Children, 2012). Through selected image boards, visual development sketches, drawings and notes from Royal Space Force, 

A World is Born is a window to the complex production process and a slice of history behind the styles and approaches that gave birth to the aesthetics and artistic processes behind the fictional animation worlds we know today.

The exhibition is split between two locations. The DECK will feature works by Gainax, while LASALLE's Ngee Ann Kongsi Library will feature works by BA(Hons) Animation Art students.

Guided tours will be conducted by Dr Gan Sheuo Hui on Wed 21 March, 6:30pm and Wed 28 March, 6:30pm at DECK.

About the Speaker

Born in Niigata, Japan in 1962, YAMAGA Hiroyuki made his debut by producing original animation works when he was in college and he directed the remarkable animated feature film Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise at his age of 24 that has had great influence on many animation works later in Japan. He is now working on planning and producing its sequel animated feature film Uru in Blue. Aside from directing 32 animation works, he has been involved and acclaimed in various fields such as live action films, events and opera works.