Someone’s life drama - Column of ubies CEO, Hiroaki Shono
By: Ubies ユビエス
Tags: Hiroakishono, Asia, Ubies

Photo by JK on Unsplash

The language barrier is big, and even if you have talent, the number of creators who are active overseas is very limited. However, bilingual creators are not always able to work across countries. There seems to be something important to get a chance to cross the border.



Koichiro Kashima, a young picture book artist, was discovered by Ignatius Hermawan Tanzil, a leading expert in the field of graphic design in Indonesia and he was invited to the “Ruka Rupa Rasa’’ exhibition held at the art space “Dia.Lo.Gue’’ run by Ignatius Hermawan Tanzil. Indonesian kids saw Mr.Kashima’s work on Instagram, rushed in the gallery and gained 1,000 followers on his instagram account within three days of the event. His art pieces and goods were almost sold out, which was a great success. Fantastic and diverse characters, detailed and delicate drawing techniques are unfamiliar to Indonesian people and strongly attracted them.

Nut Dao, an illustrator based in Bangkok, is one of the people I introduced to Japan. I fell in love with his work and was convinced that it would sell for sure with more than 20 years of experience as an illustrator agent. His work is somehow humorous, simple but cleverly designed like an infographic, I believe that it fits the boom of simple line drawing illustrations in Japan. Currently, Mr. Nut has been selected as an official illustrator for the airline Peach, and has also worked on Tokyo Metro, SONY, Asahi Kasei, etc.

Mr. Tsukue Akimoto, an illustrator and manga artist, has received high praise in the industry, such as the Hobonichi Manga Award,and his true value is also being demonstrated in Asia. At the solo exhibition “EXOTIC BAZZAR” held in Shenzhen, China, admission was restricted because of long line and his work and goods were completely sold out and there was nothing to sell at the end.

The solo exhibition was produced by Eric Zhu of Shenzhen Fringe, who produces various art events in Shenzhen, China. Mr. Akimoto was selected at the international art fair “UNKNOWN ASIA”, where he serves as a judge, and holding a solo exhibition was a supplementary prize. The reason why Eric chose Akimoto is, “His art piece of record jacket made by reused cardboard is nostalgic and has taste, and I was confident that it would be popular with Millennials and Gen Z who grew up listening to Japanese manga and music online and also interested in environmental issues “.

What all three creators evaluated overseas have in common is that they met someone with the qualities of an agent. The qualities are a deep understanding of the value of works and creators, familiar with the historical background and culture of cross-border destinations, and the temperament and sensibilities of people. They can stitch and edit them, and they’ll find it a pleasure to “contribute to someone’s life drama.”



The creative tournament “ubisum by ubies”, which ended with Lulu’s Grand Prix last year, 100 talented people in the creative world from all over Asia became mentors, and each one of them selected and nominated the creators who entered the tournament, aiming for the Grand Prix together. The reason for this structure was that we were wondering if it would be possible to create a system where “people who want to find out” and “people who want to be found” can meet.



It is not always where you are now that does not mean that your work or expression are accepted there. ubies wants to find that place and continue to aim to be there to make your life more dramatic.