Showing posts with label Exhibition Reports. Show all posts

I visit George Lucas' Star Wars: Visions Exhibition in Tokyo

I have been quietly anticipating the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. To that end I have been avoiding the marketing and hype as much as I can - until a couple of evenings ago when after seeing a snippet of Daisy Ridley and John Boyega chatting on the news - the switch flipped - there is no containing my excitement - bring on December 4orce, secondarily I thought I would finish this piece on my visit to George Lucas' Star Wars: Visions Exhibition in Tokyo. Incidentally since writing this I believe I have the entire Legacy featurette that the aforementioned Ridley & Boyega interviews were part of, I have embedded it below and it's worth watching just to see their reactions to being on the Star Wars: The Force Awakens set.

Earlier this year I was fortunate to fulfil a lifelong dream and visit a land far, far away. And I have to say - Japan, the land of the rising sun, far exceeded my expectations on every level. I hasten to add that Japan might be famed for its rising sun but its sunsets are absolutely spectacular. Whilst I didn't manage to team up with a travelling troupe of Ninjas and defend beleaguered farmers against an out of control warlord's hordes or find a Hattori Hanzō sword (or even an ancient Masamune Katana folded 200 times) I did however manage to wander the land, meet people... get into adventures and stuff.



When planning my Japan itinerary I was stoked to see that an exhibition dedicated to Star Wars called Star Wars: Visions would be on in Tokyo at the same time as I would be there. This was fortuitous as a little while back I had made tentative plans to visit the Star Wars: Identities Exhibition in Paris, my plans fell through and the exhibition moved on to its next international destination. London doesn't seem to be getting any Star Wars Exhibition love of late, in comparison to The London Film Museum's exceptional 2007 Star Wars: The Exhibition at least, so Star Wars: Visions was something I was keen to visit. However, my itinerary was fairly loose to say the least, as I intended to do a lot of travelling around Japan and as much as I intended to “plan the dive then dive the plan. I had no idea where I would end up from one day to the next or how long I might be there. If I may digress? My experience is that when it comes to travel you can plan for your expectations but if you can be flexible - some of the best experiences are the unexpected ones and you never know what new adventure or taste lies around the corner in wait. So there was a good chance I might not see the exhibition but it was on my radar.


Star Wars was released in 1977 and firmly placed itself into film history as well as became a cultural phenomenon.

An ingenious mix of a universe with compelling characters, an engaging weave of history and war, a variety of diverse planets, spacecrafts and weapons, the use of state-of-the-art video technology combined with a timeless story has captured the imagination of many, many fans.

Given Japan's contribution to Star Wars, particularly the films of Akira Kurosawa and its ardent Star Wars following it's no surprise that in the run up to the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens George Lucas decided to bring the Star Wars: Visions Exhibition to cities around Japan before taking up a permanent residence in Chicago at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in 2018. George Lucas even wanted legendary and influential Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune most notably known for his collaboration with Akira Kurosawa and roles in films like; Rashomon, The Hidden Fortress, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, Yojimbo and Red Sun or Soleil Rouge, for the part of Obi-Wan Kenobi, then Darth Vader but Mifune past on both roles. Clearly Obi-Wan's Jedi robe and Lightsaber are nods to Japanese culture and Darth Vader's head gear is a modernised Samurai helmet.

George had described Vader as having flowing black robes. In the script, Vader had to jump from one ship to another and, in order to survive the vacuum of space, I felt he needed some sort of breathing mask.

George said, 'OK', suggested adding a samurai helmet, and Darth Vader was born. Simple as that.

VIDEO: THE ESTABLISHING SHOT: STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS - STAR WARS LEGACY FEATURETTE - 18 DEC 2015

SalonQP 2015 Highlights Part 1

The Establishing Shot: SALONQP 2015 SAATCHI GALLERY QUEUE AT NIGHT , LONDON

This post was originally intended to be a “Must see things at SalonQP 2015”. You know the type of post I'm referring to - low on content and high on hyperbole - but after spending some time at SalonQP absorbing the atmosphere and chatting with some of the talented and clearly determined watchmakers. I thought I really would be doing them a disservice if I didn't at least try to capture some of the innovative essence and elegance that SalonQP and their watchmakers bring to London - once a year for their annual luxury exhibition dedicated to fine watches.

...the name? It’s from the abbreviation for Quantième Perpétuel, the French term for “perpetual calendar”. QP is all about the long view and the highest standards.”
                                                                  - excerpt from the SalonQP website

How could I not take some time and try cobble together something a little more substantial? Initially I had thought I may be overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of time pieces and objects of desire on display from the 80 exhibiting brands at SalonQP 2015. Also the large number of people that typically attend these kind of events was a factor in my concern that I might not get a chance to see  everything I hoped. Last year over 7,000 people visited and as SalonQP is growing from strength to strength - this year even more were expected.

Thankfully this was not the case at all as the exhibition is spaciously laid out over all three floors of giant The Saatchi Gallery. I was able to make my way around the entire exhibition in a couple of hours but more time was needed for visits, demonstrations and browsing pieces as there is more than enough to keep you occupied for days if needed.

After a visit it is easy to see why SalonQP is the UK (if not Europe's) premier fine watch exhibition. I hasten to add that although the focus of SalonQP is time pieces - it is very much a lifestyle exhibition - with high end luxury houses from other areas like; Lotus (because cars & watches), Linn Audio, Berry Bros. & Rudd, Creed Fragrance, Harrods, et al, showcasing their goods to meet the needs of people who enjoy, nay celebrate life.  I would be surprised if SalonQP did not grow into a complete luxury lifestyle exhibition in the future.

The Establishing Shot: SALONQP 2015 - HARRODS LOUNGE & BAR - SAATCHI GALLERY, LONDON

SalonQP is an extraordinary opportunity to research your next purchase, meet some of the most talented crafts people in the watch business, see early watch samples before public release as well as view limited and rare examples of some of the finest watches ever made, listen and discuss aspects of the art & science of Horology (there are talks and seminars from leading watchmakers), view specially curated exhibitions as well as have a jolly good time which seems core to the SalonQP experience.

The Establishing Shot: SALONQP 2015 - OBJECTIF HORLOGERIE EXPERT WATCHMAKER - SAATCHI GALLERY, LONDON

But for me, if there is one overriding take away from my visit SalonQP 2015 it is that I may never look at a watch the same way again - for most of us watches arrive as fully formed objects of function and beauty an almost abstracted thing distant from its origins, so understandably it is easy to forget that they are the composite of a long road and meticulous hard work. Nowhere was this more pertinent for me than when I stopped by Objectif Horlogerie to watch one of their craftsmen busy constructing a time piece.
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