Kenji Yanobe: Kindergarten／ヤノベケンジ・キンダガルテン

Atomic-powered cyborgs walk among the many absurd and fabulous contraptions that populate the universe of Kenji Yanobe.


Born in Osaka in 1965, Yanobe grew up on a steady diet of television and manga, much like other otaku-artists of his generation such as Murakami and “the superflat”.

Situating his work within the toxic environments common to science fiction, Yanobe employs its themes and forms to address the central paradox of technology: its boundless potential and unbridled danger.

As a kid, he used to play in the ruins of Expo 1970 Osaka, among its destroyed proto-robots and spacey sculptures. He took from this period an obsessive interest in the image of futuristic catastrophes , such as "Chernobyl 1997".

With "Kindergarten" (en/jp), Yanobe iron-ically winks at the ruins-to-be of this latest Expo, hoping another message emerges for the next generation.

Check out the trailer: here