Anjin 1600: Edo Wonderpark was a multi-room installation incorporating a re-imagining of the story of William Adams (1564-1620), a sea navigator known as the first Englishman to set foot in Japan in 1600. Appropriating and animating scenes found from Edo-era wood block prints, combining traditional technique with modern anime, Anjin 1600: Edo Wonderpark used Adam’s story to form a complex meditation on colonialism, cultural tourism and identity.
Alongside the installation, providing a focus for a larger discussion about our relationship to our cultural heritage, Blandy worked with the local community to uncover ancestral stories of migration. These narratives were retold in collaborative works where the historical journeys were transposed into epic space adventures.
Through a series of intensive workshops with local schools and community groups, a compendium of stories were collected, forming an alternate social history of east London. The exhibition coincidds with, and considered issues surrounding the 400th anniversary of Japan-British relations.
This installation was exhibited in the Rose Lipman Building.
Curated by Keith Whittle under his commissioning agency FountainCo-produced by Elizabeth Newell.Installations made in collaboration with Rhino Rock and AAS Group.
Supported by Arts Council England, The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and in association with The Graduate School of Film and New Media, Tokyo Geidai and Japan400.