EXCALIBUR - NEW GAME+: title, color, date ... gimmicks everywhere as if we do a role-play game

8 - 26 December 2021

From December 8th - December 19th 2021, EXCALIBUR, a collective of artists based in Tokyo, presented their first  exhibition in Paris. 

 

In contrast to the renowned Japanese neo-pop movement, which was born from anime and manga culture and led by Takashi Murakami, EXCALIBUR, the next generation, uses video games as a source of inspiration and Japanese mythology and culture as a motif. We like to call it "post-neo-pop." 

 

EXCALIBUR's pixel art is strongly influenced by the graphic appearance of Nintendo in the 1980s and by the golden age of video games. As a base, they use the same 8bit pixel as the video games of that time giving its work a strong sense of nostalgia. Simultaneously EXCALIBUR emphasizes the advanced technology of our modern times.

 

Hidden in the opening date of the exhibition - December 8th - we can find a playful gimmick. The date combines "8-bit pixel art" and "12 knights" who appear in the Arthurian legend Knights of the Round Table, of which the name EXCALIBUR is derived.
This way, the collective EXCALIBUR keeps surprising us, bringing meaning not only with their works, but also with their other activities and gimmicks.