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South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
An artist imagines what Hong Kong would look like if giant animals took over
Every week, Talking Points gives you a worksheet to practise your reading comprehension with exercises about the story we've written. Hong Kong illustrator Maf Cheung recalled the silly moment when her friend's cat crouched under a chair and stared at her pup. 'My dog is extremely introverted and not social at all, while Eevee is one of those cats that bullies the weak but fears the strong,' recalled Cheung, who is in her 30s. 'Since my Yorkie was bigger, Eevee gave her this sceptical look and chose a ... safe spot.' That moment inspired Cheung to draw a giant version of Eevee peeking through a bridge in Causeway Bay. The giant feline makes a passing green tram look as small as a toy. 'The way she looked at us felt like she was judging all of humanity,' she added. This was the first piece in Cheung's 'Hong Kong Giant Animal Series'. These pieces imagine oversized animals roaming around the city. She started working on this series in 2022. In 2023, she published 90 of these pieces in a book. In April and May, one of Cheung's artworks was featured in an exhibition in the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. Cheung's advice to young illustrators in Hong Kong is to take the time to find their voice as an artist. 'Art is inherently slow. It grows from experience and reflection – and those things need time to settle and take shape,' she said. Sparrows are helping people learn about a Hong Kong neighbourhood Reimagining Hong Kong When Cheung was in primary school, her best friends weren't her classmates. They were her dad's pets: goldfish, koi, turtles, birds, chinchillas and even hawks. 'I spent more time with those animals than I did playing with other kids. Even when we had family gatherings, I preferred being with the pets,' she said. 'Animals gave me emotional comfort.' That is why animals are so important in her art. 'By making them giant, I'm projecting my feelings onto them. These are the beings I trust, the ones that help me relax,' Cheung explained. Her art also focuses on places in Hong Kong that are disappearing or already gone. For example, she has drawn Queen's Pier, the old Hung Hom MTR station, and the iconic neon signs of Nam Cheong Pawn Shop and Leung Tim Choppers Factory. One of her pieces features a giant sparrow at the former Hung Hom station. 'A fan messaged me and said, 'It's perfect that you drew a sparrow there because, in my experience, the sparrows at Hung Hom are the fattest in all of Hong Kong because they eat McDonald's,'' Cheung said. Maf Cheung's artwork highlights Hong Kong's famous neon lights. Photo: Handout Mix of reality and fantasy Cheung's art mixes what is real with what is a fantasy. Her inspiration started with Hayao Miyazaki's animated film, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. 'It was the first of his works I saw, and I was hooked. I watched everything he released after that,' the artist explained. 'That's where the fairy-tale dreaminess in my art comes from.' She added that the dreamlike parts of her work also showed her emotions. Cheung gave the example of her favourite artwork in her giant animal series. It shows a flying squirrel that saves a girl at Lei Tak Estate. 'That piece was actually about processing my own negative emotions at the time. A lot was happening in Hong Kong then, and I was feeling overwhelmed,' she said. 'I imagined – what if in that moment, a giant flying squirrel came to save me? That idea brought me comfort.' To test your understanding of this story, download our printable worksheet or answer the questions in the quiz below.
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
Itoi Kanji: Avant-Garde Trailblazer Finally Earning Recognition
Itoi Kanji (1920–2021) was a radical performer and avant-garde artist who was active in the 1960s and 1970s. The house in suburban Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, where he spent the latter half of his life, dubbed the Kihōsha—a reference to 'releasing demons'—was knocked down in June 2024 when the road was widened. Itoi's house, the Kihōsha, before its demolition. (© M. Mikami) While Itoi's eccentric performances and grotesque, erotic artwork led him to be viewed as strange and eccentric, inspection of the remaining signs of the life he led in the Kihōsha shows that he was an artist who remained pure at heart, and was definitely not someone who 'played to the gallery.' Banned from Public Exhibition Born in Tokyo's Yodobashi (currently part of the city of Shinjuku), Itoi studied mechanical engineering at the Tokyo High School of Engineering (now the Shibaura Institute of Technology), and after being conscripted, was sent to various army posts in Kyūshū. At the end of the Second World War, he was 24. Establishing himself as an artist shortly after the end of the war, in 1951 Itoi entered an artwork made from eggshells in the Yomiuri Indépendent Exhibition: a public exhibition with no screening that was open to all. This was the first piece he ever placed in an exhibition, but the egg-related motif of 'life' was one that would inform his work throughout his artistic career. In 1952, Itoi moved to Sendai, where his parents lived. Two years later, the artist, by this time a single father, moved to Tokyo's Ōmori, where he put up a sign on the house that read 'Art Institute' and engaged in creative activities with fellow creators. The postwar avant-garde trend had turned the Japanese artistic scene into a confused mix of art informel and action painting. Influenced by Dadaism and Zen, Itoi searched for his own style. Itoi was banned from exhibiting at the 1962 Indépendent on the grounds of excessive vulgarity. During the 1963 Indépendent, he performed naked at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, causing organizers to call the police. Nude Street Performances It is around this time that Itoi's street performances got more serious. Sex was an important motif in his art, as evidenced by the 'paper penis' collage he made from photos of nude women and penises cut from magazines. Itoi first gained attention for his human 'Olympic Torch Personified' performance in 1964, in which he sprinted in the nude through Ginza ahead of the Olympic torch relay, brandishing a red loincloth in his hand made to look like the Olympic flame. He was promptly arrested and committed to a mental hospital in Tokyo, where he spent the next year or so. On the advice of his doctor, during his stay there he created an album that consisted of some of his prints with text added. In it is an artist's declaration that reads, 'To find truth you need to live wholeheartedly as your true self. This is also the essence of living life to the fullest.' 'Don't Kill' Propels Itoi to Fame It was the March 1971 weekly edition of Shōnen Sunday that saw the controversial avant-garde artist become a household name, even to elementary school children. The magazine featured a photo of Itoi, his hair long and unkempt and his beard matted, walking down the road in sunglasses while wearing pieces of material arranged like a dress and holding a placard saying 'Don't kill.' At a time when avant-garde performances were popular, this performance had an unprecedented impact. The performance was inspired by fellow artist Okamoto Tarō's 'Don't kill' plea in the antiwar advertisement placed in the Washington Post in 1967 by the Beheiren (Citizen's League for Peace in Vietnam). Itoi spent the period between from 1972 to 1979 caring for his elderly mother in Uji, Kyoto, until her death, upon which he returned to Sendai. Moving back into the Kihōsha, he threw himself into his work as if to make up for the blank in his career. Brought Back to Life by Photographs Plans to knock down the Kihōsha prompted local cultural facility Sendai Mediatheque to put on an exhibition entitled Chiiki to Avan Gyarudo (Avant-Garde in Our Region) that ran from October 2024 through January 2025, giving visitors a glimpse into the life of 'Dadakan' (Itoi's nickname). Rather than artworks, the exhibition chiefly comprised photographs and documents that presented an eloquent and uncensored take on Itoi's day-to-day life. The Avant-Garde in Our Region exhibition took place at Sendai Mediatheque. (© Hanaga Mitsutoshi; courtesy of Sendai Mediatheque) The Kihōsha was an old wood and mortar building. The collection of photographs of this structure show that there was a kotatsu in the middle of the living room, within easy reach of the heater and small red rice cooker that the artist used for many years. Off to the side was a wall that Itoi's many visitors signed and dated over the years. Among the names were numerous art critics and researchers, a record of the increasing interest in and appreciation for Itoi's work. There was also an artwork made from visitors' cigarette butts pasted to a piece of paper. In the artist's six-tatami-mat bedroom, which he called Yumedono (Temple of Dreams), were a bed covered with a duvet and a cabinet. In the bathroom was a tank filled with water, like a household pond. A plastic bottle was placed under the leaking tap in the kitchen to catch the drips. Trademark Naked Headstand Artworks made from eggshells graced the entranceway and whatever small gaps the artist could find. The viewer's eyes are drawn to the details of the photographs. Perhaps Tsuboi's house was itself an artwork. There is even a video, with commentary, of Itoi serving visitors cake he made in the rice cooker, an interesting reminder of the artist's creative ideas and the things he was particular about. In the wooden-floored room was an old chair with armrests. This marks the sacred spot where, when Itoi felt in the mood, he would grab the armrests and do a headstand on the seat, opening and closing his legs in a naked ritual he performed for visitors. While at junior high school, Itoi was taught gymnastics by a former Olympic gymnast, and in 1946 he competed in the first ever National Sports Festival of Japan. The fact that he was able to continue his peculiar headstand performance to a ripe old age (91 or even older, according to records) is a testament to this, and a tour de force by this very physical artist. Living a carefree life in the Kihōsha, Itoi would converse with his guests, create art, and send collages he made from swimsuit magazines and scraps of paper to friends, acquaintances, and even newsreaders and singers he knew from the radio, calling them 'mail art.' Catalyst for Reappraisal The survey of the Kihōsha before it was demolished and capturing of images of the building were undertaken by a voluntary organization whose purpose is the collection, organization, and preservation of Itoi's artworks and related information. The organization, whose four members include Mikami Mitsurō, a curator and former deputy director of the Miyagi Museum of Art, and the media researcher Hosoya Shūhei, has so far covered Itoi in a variety of ways, including by releasing a book of his prints. The group's members aim to perform a true assessment of who Itoi Kanji really was by unearthing and assessing everything they can find on him. The Sendai Mediatheque exhibition included a panel discussion that included Itoi's sister, Amano Kiyoko, and the unveiling of the results of the survey. Amano said that she decided that it was better not to offer any help whatsoever to the house's lone occupant (her brother). We can see that she well understood Itoi's commitment to self-sufficiency. Itoi late in his life, in front of a portrait of his father, Tatsuhachirō. (© M. Mikami) The Embodiment of Sincerity In 1986, Itoi was featured in Japon des Avant-gardes 1910–1970 at the Pompadour Centre in Paris. In 2009, the artist was featured in the Zen'ei no Miyagi (Avant-Garde Miyagi) exhibition held at the Miyagi Museum of Art. In addition, his works have been featured at galleries all around the country. Despite the fact that Itoi give off a highly eccentric subcultural aura, he is increasingly getting the recognition he deserved as an artist. A biography by the French avant-garde scholar Bruno Fernandes came out in 2023. In the October 16, 2016, issue of the journal Artscape , the noted art critic Fukuzumi Ren observed: While various commentators referred to this legendary artist, most of them merely treat Itoi as a nonconformist or an exception. However, I believe that 'Dadakan' is truly an artist who most purely and sincerely, or most properly, embodied the essence of art, both in terms of the form of his performances and in terms of his desire to express himself in an impulsive manner. As evidence of this, Dadakan was well aware that he tended to be labelled 'abnormal.' (Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: Itoi Kanji late in his life . © M. Mikami)
Tokyo Weekender
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Tokyo Weekender
The Best Things To Do in Tokyo This Month: May 2025
Here is what's happening across Tokyo for the month of May. Check out exhibitions, festivals, events and more! List of Contents: Exhibitions and Art Shows Festivals and Outdoor Events Live Music and Night Life Events Anime and Manga Events Food and Drink Events Game Events Related Posts Tokyo Exhibitions and Art Shows in May Daido Moriyama and Sayre Gomez: "Hellooooo" Exhibition Daido Moriyama's Tokyo street photography meets the sharp grit of Sayre Gomez's photorealistic Los Angeles paintings in this exhibition. Date & Time Apr 12-May 31・11:00-19:00 Price Free Location Taka Ishii Gallery Kyobashi More Info Closed Sunday, Monday, Holidays More Details Hokusai: Another Story in Tokyo Immersive Exhibit Hokusai's masterpiece ukiyo-e come to life in a way never experienced before. This immersive experience presents the beauty of Hokusai's art with modern technology for an interactive exhibit. Date & Time Feb 01-Jun 01・11:00-20:00・Last admission at 19:10 Price ¥4200 Location Tokyu Plaza Shibuya More Details Machine Love: Video Game, AI and Contemporary Art "Machine Love: Video Game, AI and Contemporary Art" at the Mori Art Museum spotlights contemporary artists that utilize game engines, generative AI and virtual reality technologies as tools for their visualization. Date & Time Feb 13-Jun 08・10:00-22:00・10:00-17:00 on Tuesdays, Admission until 30 minutes before closing Price ¥2000 for adults, ¥1700 for seniors, ¥1400 for university/high school students, free for children Location Shows on Location details blocks inserted into post content with short code [location_details] More Details Hilma af Klint: The Beyond Go and see the new exhibition of pineoreeing abstract artist Hilma af Klint (1862-1994) coming to the National Museum of Modern Art in March. Date & Time Mar 04-Jun 15・10:00-17:00・Closed on Mondays/Fridays and Saturdays open until 8 pm Price ¥2300 Location National Museum of Modern Art More Info ¥1,200 for University Students/¥700 for Highschool Students More Details Godzilla the Art 70th Anniversary Exhibition Godzilla is celebrating its 70th anniversary. Godzilla the Art Exhibition at Mori Arts Center Gallery showcases 29 artists and their interpretation of the giant monster. Date & Time Apr 26-Jun 29・10:00-19:00・Until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, last admission 30 minutes before closing Price General and university students: ¥2500, high school students: ¥1600, elementary school and under: ¥600 Location Mori Arts Center Gallery More Info Weekday tickets are discounted More Details Joan Miró Exhibition From March 1 to July 6, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum will host a retrospective dedicated to Joan Miró, one of the 20th century's most celebrated artists. Date & Time Mar 01-Jul 06・09:30-17:30・Fridays open until 8:00 p.m. / Last entry 30 minutes before closing / Closed: Mondays (except April 28 and May 5) and May 7 Price ¥2,300 / ¥1,300 for University Students / ¥1,600 for people over 65 years old Location Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum More Details Kenjiro Okazaki Exhibition at Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo Kenjiro Okazaki's first major Tokyo retrospective highlights groundbreaking works, exploring the transformative power of form across media. Date & Time Apr 29-Jul 21・10:00-18:00 Price Location Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo 1F/3F More Details Exhibition: World Fair in Japan 1970-2005 Architecture fans will delight in this deep dive into Japan's Expo designs, from Osaka in the '70's to Aichi 2005's eco-conscious pavilions. Date & Time Mar 08-Aug 31・10:00-16:30 Price Free Location National Archives of Modern Architecture More Info Closed on Mondays, except public holidays (closed the following day instead) More Details Tokyo Festivals and Outdoor Events in May Spiral Independent Creators Festival 2025 The Spiral Independent Creators Festival is back for its 26th edition, offering an exciting showcase of Japan's art and design scenes. Date & Time May 02-07・11:00-19:00 Price Exhibition tickets are ¥1000. The market is free. Location Spiral More Details Keisei Rose Garden 'The Queen of Heart's Tree Castle' Experience the Keisei Rose Garden's spring festival, "The Queen of Heart's Tree Castle," where the garden turns into a rose-filled theme park. Throughout the festival period, guests can enjoy tea in the small castle inside the garden, and ride a merry-go-round or the self-driving car to explore the garden premises. Date & Time Apr 19-Jun 15・09:00-18:00 Price ¥1,800 Location Keisei Rose Garden More Details My Melody & Kuromi Anniversary Party at Sanrio Puroland and Harmonyland To celebrate My Melody's 50th anniversary and Kuromi's 20th anniversary, Sanrio Puroland and Harmonyland theme parks will have new attractions, entertainment, photo spots, merchandise and food. Date & Time Jan 17-Dec 31・・Specific event and attraction dates may vary Price Location Sanrio Puroland More Details Tokyo Live Music and Night Life Events in May Angura Presents: 'Pop Peach Planet' Angura's next event features four exciting and creative pop acts in Japanese indie like Puff and Wang Dang Doodle, and some top-class DJs. Date & Time May 14, 2025・19:00~・Doors open 18:30 Price ¥3,200 (inc 1D Location Shinjuku Marz More Details Boyz II Men Japan Boyz II Men touch down in Japan for a three-date arena tour, taking in Osaka and Nagoya before moving onto Tokyo for a final date. Date & Time May 16, 2025・19:00~・Doors open 18:00 Price from ¥15,000 Location Tokyo Garden Theater More Details Kamasi Washington Live in Tokyo 2025 Kamasi Washington, aka one of the coolest saxophonists in the business, comes back to Japan for four solo dates across the country. Date & Time May 23-28・17:30~・Playing four times across two days. 1st OPEN 16:30 / START 17:30 | 2nd OPEN 19:30 / START 20:30 Price from ¥16,500 Location Billboard Live Tokyo More Details The Beach 2025: A New Beach Festival Dedicated to Dance Music The Beach 2025 — a brand-new beach festival in Japan that's dedicated to dance music — makes its debut on Saturday, May 31, 2025. Date & Time May 31, 2025・12:00-21:00・Doors open at 11:00 Price General admission: ¥15,000 | At the gate: ¥18,000 Location Makuhari Seaside Park (Chiba) More Details Hibiya Music Festival 2025 A 'free and borderless' music event, the Hibiya Music Festival returns this May, bringing live performances by top artists to Hibiya Park. Date & Time May 31-Jun 01・10:30-20:30 Price Free Location Hibiya Park More Info Some venues may require entry fee. See website for details More Details Tokyo Anime and Manga Events in May Ghibli 3D Sculpture Exhibition In 2003, Tokyo was blessed with the Ghilbli 3D sculpture exhibition. Now, 22 years later, it is back and bigger than ever. Dive into the worlds of My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away and Pom Poko with full-scale sculptures from the films. You can even see the Savoia S-21 flying boat from Porco Rosso. Date & Time May 27-Sep 23・09:30-20:00・Last Entry at 19:00 Price ¥1,900 Location Warehouse TERRADA B&C HALL More Details Tokyo Food and Drink Events in May The Tavern Secret Kitchen Is Back The Tavern Secret Kitchen is secretly back with two unforgettable evenings on Friday and Saturday, May 16 and 17, 2025. Date & Time May 16-17・19:00~・Welcome drink from 18:30 Price ¥24,200 Location The Tavern - Grill & Lounge More Info ¥9,900 for wine pairing More Details Italia, Amore Mio! 2025: Life is Beautiful Italia, Amore Mio! 2025 is back at Roppongi Hills Arena on May 24–25, featuring live entertainment, Italian brands and authentic Italian food and wine. Date & Time May 24-25・ Price Free Location Roppongi Hills Arena More Details Chinaroom Hosts Renowned Cantonese Chef Jacob Huang For one week only this February, Chinaroom is welcoming acclaimed Michelin-Starred Chef Jacob Huang to Tokyo. Date & Time Feb 25-May 31・11:30-14:30・Dinner: 17:30-20:30 Price Dinner: ¥17,600, Lunch: ¥8,800 Location Chinaroom More Details Jade Garden Special Chef Collaboration Event For around two months, Chef Kent Jin Qiang is presenting a special menu at Jade Garden, Hyatt Regency Tokyo. Date & Time Mar 20-May 31・11:30-22:00・Lunch: 11:30-15:00, Dinner: 17:30-22:00 Price ¥10,120-¥22,770 Location Jade Garden More Info All prices include 15% service charge and tax More Details The Oak Door Bar's Sakurao Cocktails With hanami season approaching, Grand Hyatt Tokyo is exploring the complex flavors of Sakurao Gin through a range of cocktails. Date & Time Mar 20-May 31・11:30-23:30・Until 0:30 on Fridays and Saturdays Price ¥2,300-¥2,500 Location The OakDoor More Details Tokyo DisneySea Food & Wine Festival The Food & Wine Festival returns for a second year at Tokyo DisneySea. Guests can sample a variety of dishes and exclusive seasonal beverages. Date & Time Apr 08-Jun 30・・Specific menu and merchandise sale dates may vary Price Location Tokyo DisneySea More Details Le Petit Chef ANA InterContinental Tokyo recently announced the opening of Le Petit Chef, a cinema dining restaurant with projection mapping. Date & Time Feb 07-Jul 31・12:00-22:00・Three Seatings Price ¥14,000-¥21,000 Location ANA InerContinental Tokyo More Details Sapporo Beer The Perfect Black Label Wagon Event Sapporo's Perfect Black Label Wagon is touring at 13 stops celebrating their flagship draft beer around the country. Guests can enjoy Sapporo beer and other exclusive goods at the event. Date & Time Apr 09-Aug 24・・Please check event details for each venue Price Experience passes: ¥1200 (Tokyo), ¥1000 (other locations) Location Roppongi Hills Arena More Details Mori no Beer Garden's 40th Edition Mori no Beer Garden is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Enjoy an all-you-can-eat barbecue and an all-you-can-eat drinks menu. Date & Time Apr 15-Sep 23・16:30-22:00・Weekends and Holidays: 12:00-22:00. From July 19 to August 31: 14:00-22:30, Weekends and Holidays: 12:00-22:30 Price ¥6,000-¥7,000 for adults Location Niko Niko Park, Meiji Jingu Gaien More Details (c)Kristin Perers Bills Spring-Summer 2025 Menu The all-day dining restaurant Bills (stylized as bills) starts its spring-summer 2025 menu at all eight locations in Japan from April 22. Date & Time Apr 22-Oct 15・ Price Breakfast-Brunch ¥3,000-¥3,999 Location bills Ginza More Info Dinner ¥5,000-¥5,999 More Details Tokyo Game Events in May More events coming soon. Related Posts Japan in May: The Best Things To Do and Places To Visit Where To See Wisteria Across Japan: Best Spots and Peak Bloom Dates Best Hojicha Spots in Tokyo: A Guide to Japan's Roasted Green Tea
