CCMS experiment OBON

2024.8.10 sat ‒ 2024.8.18 sun

New Gallery, a cutting-edge art space proposing new possibilities in art, opened in Jimbocho, Tokyo in March 2024. This gallery has announced the upcoming event "CCMS experiment OBON," a temporary nighttime "exhibition" by the creative unit "CCMS". CCMS was formed in 2000 by Shigeto Koyama, Tsuyoshi Kusano, and Ai Nonaka. The event will be held from Saturday, August 10th to Sunday, August 18th, 2024, during nighttime hours only.

In the fall of 2023, "SHIGETO KOYAMA CCMS experiment OBAKE" was held at the NowHere gallery in SoHo, New York. At this event, CCMS approached the "animation" and "product" fields they've been involved in as modern "folk crafts," aiming to showcase their appeal and explore new possibilities and values to a wider audience, while also seeking new venues and opportunities for expression. This upcoming exhibition, also labeled as an "experiment," will primarily feature products presented in New York, along with new products inspired by the exhibition's title, "CCMS experiment OBON."

Additionally, talk events limited to 30 participants each have been scheduled for three days: Sunday, August 11th, Monday, August 12th (a public holiday), and Saturday, August 17th. These events will feature guests closely associated with CCMS: bokusatsu.com (Atsushi Nishikori, Hiromi Wakabayashi, and Shigeto Koyama), writer Shotaro Miya, and Masahiko Minami, CEO of BONES Inc. The lottery application period for these events will be from Sunday, July 28, 2024, at 12:00 PM to Thursday, August 1, 2024, at 11:59 PM. During the talk events, only ticket holders will be allowed to enter the venue.

The temporary nighttime "exhibition" space "CCMS experiment OBON," born from the creative thoughts and expressions of "CCMS," will be held during the Obon period. Let's meet CCMS on a summer evening.

Talk Event Details

・GATHERING. 03 8.11 sun：Bokusatsu.com×CCMS （Atsushi Nishigori・Hiromi Wakabayashi・Shigeto Koyama・Tsuyoshi Kusano）

・GATHERING. 04 8.12 mon：NAMA GOMENNASAI（Shotaro Miya・Shigeto Koyama・Tsuyoshi Kusano）

・GATHERING  05  8月17日（土）：CCMS begins. （Masahiko Minami・Shigeto Koyama・Tsuyoshi Kusano）

*Each session starts at 20:00

CCMS Comment

Over the past few years, during the period of stay-at-home restrictions, CCMS only sold products through their EC site named "SHOP". Now that this period of isolation has ended and people have returned to the streets, we decided to try turning "SHOP" into a temporary real-world store. This is the concept behind the pop-up "exhibition" space "CCMS experiment OBON".
This is CCMS's version of a "store" and an "exhibition", and also simply a "point" that exists there. We wanted to try creating a night market that people could casually drop by after returning from Comiket, work, or at the end of their day. As this is an experimental attempt, it will only be open during nighttime hours for a short period of nine days.
We sincerely look forward to welcoming you all.

CCMS

Organized by: CCMS・New Gallery・SME ART ENTERTAINMENT PROJECT

CCMS

A creative unit formed by Shigeto Koyama, Tsuyoshi Kusano, and Ai Nonaka. Established in 2010.

The three members, each active as professionals in the fields of animation and design, began by creating ZINEs through derivative works known as "doujinshi," before moving on to produce original works.
In 2015, they released a short animated film titled "Obake-chan" at the "Japan Animator Expo". Currently, they produce not only books but also goods, products, and art pieces.
In addition to their own unique works, CCMS also occasionally engages in producing and art directing for other artists, as well as creating art books and products.

With a strong emphasis on underground and experimental aspects, they established an EC site called "SHOP CCMS" in 2021, through which they also sell limited-production products.

SHIGETO KOYAMA

Designer.

Born in 1975 / Originally from Tokyo. In 2004, participation in "Aim for the Top 2!" (Gunbuster 2) became a turning point, leading to involvement in the production of many subsequent anime works.

In addition to character design, he has also worked on mechanical design. Currently, his work is not limited to animation projects, but extends to design, art direction, and color control for many diverse projects.

Within CCMS, he is responsible for illustration and direction.

TSUYOSHI KUSANO

Graphic designer. After working at ASCII Corporation, he established Tsuyoshi Kusano Design Office in 2003. He has been involved in art direction across various fields, including anime, manga, light novels, corporate identity (CI), fashion, and art exhibitions. He serves as a part-time lecturer in the Department of Information Design at Musashino Art University and as an adjunct lecturer in the Faculty of Global Informatics at Chuo University. In CCMS, he is mainly responsible for design and direction.

AI NONAKA

Art director.
After learning editing and production at Club King Inc., she joined Tsuyoshi Kusano Design Office in 2005.
As a designer, he has worked in the field of animation and two-dimensional content, and is currently active mainly in art direction and content direction.
Within CCMS, he is primarily responsible for editing and management.

What is “Obake-chan,” a CCMS original work?

CCMS's first original work.
It is a picture book for adults written by Shigeto Koyama and Tsuyoshi Kusano.
The first work “Obake-chan” was published in 2012, followed by “Obake-chan desu” and “Obake-chan,” which were distributed as doujinshi at Comic Market, and a short animation “Obake-chan” directed by Shigeto Koyama was produced in 2015 for “Japan Animator Expo,” a short animation distribution project by Studio Color and Dwango. A short animation “Obake-chan” was also produced.