Last week, Kirin Big in Japan arts and cultural event curated by ksubi, returned to Sydney and also introduced Melbourne this year. Thanks to our crews in each city, we managed to capture both events through photography and video coverage including interviews with Japanese artists flown in for the occasion as well as ksubi director Dan Single.

The exclusive Sydney event took place on Tuesday 16 November 2010 at The Royal Hall of Industries in Moore Park – a gigantic blank canvas for an exhibition and performance space to showcase the Japanese underground culture. In Melbourne, the multi- disciplinary hybrid venue Thousand Pound Bend introduced Kirin Big in Japan to Melbournians for the first time, at the gallery come cinema space on Friday 19 November 2010 – a more intimate venue with awesome house party feel. While I had expected a bit more mayhem, the set schedule for each artist took the limelight at the Sydney event in a seemingly slower pace with a rather behaved audience (probably mostly due to the huge space) while Melbourne seemed to have had more of a vibe.

As we have recently introduced a video production crew in Melbourne including professional editors, producers and a roster of different presenters, we appropriately chose to send Nick Teoh to hit up some of the artists and crowd.

2010 Kirin Big in Japan – Melbourne video coverage

2010 Kirin Big In Japan curated by ksubi – Melbourne from mecho | the style black book

Can’t view on Mobile? Try viewing the 2010 Kirin Big in Japan curated by ksubi – Melbourne on YouTube.

In Sydney, Featured Contributor Andrew Green worked the floor and was filmed by our two contributing media students with a small handycam to capture the event as well as some interviews.

2010 Kirin Big in Japan – Sydney handycam video

2010 Kirin Big in Japan curated by ksubi – Sydney from mecho | the style black book

Can’t view on Mobile? Try viewing the 2010 Kirin Big in Japan curated by ksubi – Sydney on YouTube.

Photos from Kirin Big in Japan, Sydney

The avant-garde selection of Japanese artists worked across multiple mediums including performance, new media, experimental music, noise and unique installations with focus on contemporary Japanese expressionism. My personal highlights included the colourful chaos served up from expiremental DJs of Shabushabu and LakilakiwasMaho+ThaiDisco from Kyoto. Shimurabros, a brother and sister duo, had an interesting digital installation in the form of “X-ray Train” challenging 2 dimensional film and production techniques on display while lighter-than-air floating human sculptures hovered overhead from Yasushiro Suzuki. Sound artist Mamoru Okuno or the “Noodle Man” as we dubbed him, experimented with sounds we hear but never listen to via an audio and culinary performance taps into the music of noodles. Too bad he only had 10 cups of noodles to share with the audience…

Other sound artists unfortunately did not manage to win me completely over but surely provided very unique performances included Atsuhiro Ito with his original fluorescent lighting noise instrument, Hiroshi Hawegawa (of noise units ASTRO and C.C.C.C.), voice music artist Dokaka and instrumental krautrock girl group Nisennenmondai.

Having worked with McQueen and Galliano, acclaimed fashion designer and artist Yoshikazu Yamagata showcased his conceptual fashion label writtenafterwards – a very abstract catwalk which could be interpreted as a vision of God walking on earth. Exploring differing mediums from light, shadows, stop motion and more, video art was presented by Leiko Shiga, Yukihiro Taguchi, Sachiko Kodoma, Yusuke Shigeta, Yuichiro Tamura.

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