fascinate: to capture the interest or hold the attention of.
facet: one of the polished plane surfaces of a cut gem.

The Japan Foundation, Sydney has launched its latest series of exhibitions under the banner Facetnate!, with the first exhibition held in February.  Facetnate! follows the grant programme for New Visual Artists announced in the second half of last year, where support is provided to emerging visual artists whose work has been strongly influenced by Japan.

Facetnate! features six emerging artists from different backgrounds, using different artistic media (including toys, film, photography, installation and architecture) to express cultural exchange between Australia and Japan.  The six exhibitions presented under the Facetnate! banner provide an opportunity for these as yet undiscovered gems to shine, as these new visual artists reveal to us the many different faces that Japan has to offer.

One Facetnate! finalist will receive the Japan Foundation New Artist Award, which consists of a return airfare from Sydney to Tokyo to attend the 2008 Yokohama Triennale, courtesy of Japan Airlines.  The Japan Foundation, Sydney hopes that the winning artist, and the five other successful exhibitors, will continue in their field of art and further the cultural dialogue between our two nations.

Opening Event

Facetnate! opened in late February with Sydney artists Leanne and Naomi Shedlezki, whose exhibition People to People, Place to Place: Australia Japan – A Match Box Project drew significant crowds over four weeks.  Twin sisters Leanne and Naomi exhibited several small scale artworks, presented in ‘Match Box Galleries’, portable transparent cases which have been carried around and installed in various cities in Australia and Japan.  Building a link between the opening exhibition and the five that will follow throughout 2008, works from the other five Facetnate! artists were displayed in their own Match Box Gallery.

Totally Flat Consumer Camo

The second Facetnate! exhibition, William ‘BIL’ Anderson JR’s Totally Flat Consumer Camo opens at the Japan Foundation Gallery on Tuesday 8 April.  Running for two weeks, Totally Flat Consumer Camo combines the artist’s skills as a professional industrial designer draftsman with his interest in modern Japanese pop culture, producing an intriguing collection that blends illustration and sculpture.

Totally Flat Consumer Camo features a set of small toys in capsules in the style found selling from vending machines in shopping centres.  Familiar to children everywhere, they are known in Japan as gatchapon.  Anderson has created a series of miniature coloured sculptures and figurines, with assembly instructions and clear acryllic capsules similar to those in which gatchapon are found.  In his exhibition, Anderson’s capsules will be embedded in the artwork, which itself will refer to the contours of the toy capsule.  He draws his inspiration from many Japanese sources, such as artist Takashi Murakami’s Superflat movement, fashion label BAPE, amusement machine distributor Namco, and toy manufacturer Tomy Yujin Corporation.

Anderson’s body of work aims to make a statement about materialism, and how it manifests itself in the products that we consume on a daily basis for entertainment.  In his own words, “this is not a negative thing… I believe that the products created in a modern day environment can promote art and inspire artistic creation.”

Totally Flat Consumer Camo will be on display at the Japan Foundation Gallery from Tuesday 8 April.

William ‘BIL’ Anderson JR

When    8–24 April
Venue   Japan Foundation Gallery