Unfolding across four chapters, the exhibition begins with pre-modern traditions such as Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints, Indonesian shadow puppetry, and Tibetan Buddhist scrolls. These traditions helped establish fantasy as a foundational element of Asian visual culture. Chapters two and three trace major twentieth-century developments, including the spread of Surrealism through Asia and the post-war emergence of Japanese manga and anime. The final chapter presents the explosion of fantastical anime aesthetics in art, design, architecture, film, fashion, video games, and digital culture around the world that continues to the present day. It shows how these creative forms move fluidly across disciplines and regions in the twenty-first century.

Image at top: Kim Younghwan. Self-Portrait Landscape, 1962, oil on canvas. Collection of National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Image courtesy of National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea