Art After Hours x The Japan Foundation, Sydney

Talks & Demos/Workshops

January 8, 15 & 22, 2020

This January, we team up with the Art Gallery of NSW to present a co-produced program of Art After Hours talks and workshops exploring Japanese pop culture and the supernatural. The program runs in conjunction with the Art Gallery of NSW’s Japan Supernatural exhibition and is also part of our HORROR MANGA JAPAN event series.

January 8: Tattoo

6:30pm: Kian ‘Horisumi’ Forreal in conversation with Adam Liaw (Entrance Forecourt)
7:15pm: Tebori tattooing demonstration

You might remember Kian Forreal (aka Horisumi)’s amazing tattoo demo here in 2016, as part of the event program for our exhibition, Perseverance: Japanese Tattoo Tradition for a Modern World. Since then, Kian has refined his already incredible skills even further, training extensively in Japan to learn the traditional tebori (hand-poke) technique.

Hear Kian discuss supernatural motifs in Japanese tattoo and see some of his work in the flesh (literally), then enjoy the rare privilege of watching tebori tattoo in action.

Image: Kian Forreal.

See Art Gallery of NSW website for more info about the talk and more info about the demo.

January 15: Cosplay

6:30pm: Emerald King in conversation with Adam Liaw (Entrance Forecourt)
7:15pm: Cosplay demo & life drawing session

Multi-talented cosplayer and academic Dr Emerald King has been at the centre of a number of JF-supported events in Melbourne over the past few years. This time, Emerald comes to Sydney to talk all things cosplay and share a few tricks of the trade.

Hear Emerald chat about cosplaying supernatural characters from classic Japanese tales, then watch as she transforms before your eyes, proving that gender and identity pose no boundaries for the seasoned cosplayer…

Image: Rachel Lewis.

See Art Gallery of NSW website for more info about the talk and more info about the demo.

January 22: Anime & Manga

6:30pm: Kristy Matheson in conversation with Adam Liaw (Entrance Forecourt)
7:15pm: Manga workshop with Chris Yee

No series on Japanese popular culture is complete without the inclusion of anime & manga. For the final night in this series, Kristy Matheson (Director of Film at ACMI in Melbourne) and Sydney illustrator Chris Yee join forces to shed light on these contemporary art forms.

Hear Kristy talk about the magic of the supernatural across Studio Ghibli’s impressive catalogue of anime feature films, then try your hand at manga-style illustration under the guidance of Chris Yee, whose own manga-inspired work was the subject of our Mad Love exhibition back in 2015.

Images: Kristy Matheson / Chris Yee.

See Art Gallery of NSW website for more info about the talk and more info about the workshop.

Artist Profiles

Kian 'Horisumi' Forreal

Kian ‘Horisumi’ Forreal learned to tattoo in Toronto, Canada, and has been tattooing professionally worldwide since 1993. He was given his traditional Japanese tattoo name (‘Horisumi’) by tattoo master Horiyoshi III in 2013, after 20 years of tattooing. This tattoo name is an honorary title in recognition of Kian’s long-term dedication to traditional Japanese tattooing, and the outstanding quality of his work in this area.

Kian practices the traditional Japanese tebori (hand-poke) style of tattoo, in which all aspects of the tattoo process–including making inks, soldering needles and the inking process itself–are done entirely by hand. Kian is the only Western-born tattoo artist in Australia to have received a tattoo title from a Japanese master. His studio, Authentink, is in Surry Hills, Sydney.

Image: Kian Forreal.

Emerald King

Dr Emerald King is a lecturer in Japanese at LaTrobe University who specialises in Japanese literature, costume and fandom. She is also an award-winning cosplayer who crafts her own costumes, and regularly competes in and judges for local and international cosplay competitions.

Image: Rachel Lewis.

Kristy Matheson

Kristy Matheson is Director of Film at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) in Melbourne, where she is responsible for curating film programs.

Image: Kristy Matheson.

Chris Yee

Chris Yee is a Sydney-based artist and illustrator who counts manga among his influences. A solo exhibition of his work, titled Mad Love: Illustrations by Chris Yee, was shown at The Japan Foundation, Sydney in 2015.