KAIJU - VICTOR MEDRANO (TAS) February 2021

Kaiju is a contemporary art featuring five Tasmanian based artists Lou Conboy, Joel Crosswell, Rob O’Connor and Tom O’Hern, which has been curated by Victor Medrano.

The Japanese word for strange beast, Kaiju is both the name for gigantic monsters & a sub-genre of Japanese cinema. Inhabiting a world not dissimilar to ours & as with the uncertainties of climate change Kaijus surface in response to humanity’s destructive behaviour towards the planet’s ecosystem, indiscriminately destroying major cities & the military of the various governments who confront them. But unlike Hollywood’s extensive use of CGI animation in the creation of their world & the monsters themselves. There is an endearing element in the physicality created by the Japanese use of miniature sets & their subsequent destruction by actors wearing beautifully crafted Kaiju suits.The exhibition, Kaiju will be a playful celebration of these marvelous monsters & the world they inhabit.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body