The World of Tim Burton

“The World of Tim Burton” exhibition brought the artist to Hong Kong for the first time earlier this month, for the opening of this fascinating multimedia exhibition

 

Director and artist Tim Burton has achieved incredible success in both live-action and animated filmmaking, however, long before he worked in this medium, Burton had been expressing himself through drawings and paintings. Today the  prolific artist, writer, and director is loved around the world for his dark and quirky style. 

 

In 2009, New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) opened an extensive exhibition of Burton’s work, which later toured Melbourne, Los Angeles, Toronto, Paris and Seoul. A new version of his exhibition, The World of Tim Burton has since been presented in Prague, Tokyo, Osaka, Brulh, Sao Paulo, Shanghai and now Hong Kong. 

 

In his first ever visit to Hong Kong, Tim Burton was present to officiate the exhibition curtain raising for The World of Tim Burton on November 5, where 400 fans had the chance to get signed copies of The Art of Tim Burton, the 430-page book comprising more than 40 years of his personal and project artwork. 

 

Hong Kong is hosting The World of Tim Burton multimedia exhibition at ArtisTree, organized by independent curator Jenny He, in collaboration with Tim Burton Productions, and presented in Hong Kong by TAO Company until January 23, next year.

 

As with all things Burton, inspiration and creativity are never far away, and even the exhibition tickets make for collector’s items. Featuring Burton’s characters, the tickets are created in three unique designs for different admission periods and denominations. 

 

The World of Tim Burton exhibition has travelled to six cities around the world with over three million visitors thus far, and each touring exhibition is a one-of-a-kind experience.

 

The Hong Kong show features a retrospective display of over 500 drawings, photographs, puppets, sculptures, and music videos made by the director – some dating back to his childhood. Some of the puppets are from his vast filmography, including Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman, Mars Attacks!, Ed Wood, Beetlejuice, and his most recent feature film, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016).

 

There are also unrealized, little-known personal projects revealing Burton’s talent as an artist, illustrator, photographer, and writer. 

 

The exhibition is divided into nine thematic sections, which represent Burton’s ethos in various areas and examine his themes, motifs and projects, all curated from his personal archive. The section Around The World, showcases a series of Burton’s napkin drawings. Published in 2015, The Napkin Art of Tim Burton demonstrated the spontaneity of his creative process, and his unique perception of interpersonal affairs, free of time and place, on napkins from bars or restaurants. The book is a mini-companion to his 430-page book 2009 release.

 

Another zone at the exhibition, Figurative Works: Men, Women or Creaturese includes drawings, paintings and sculptures that are distinctively Burtonesque and closest to his personal private thoughts, while boundlessly revealing his atypical style. 

 

Film Characters, is a comprehensive section presenting works from all of Burton’s feature films including early sketches from his first feature Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985) to the romantic fantasy Edward Scissorhands (1990) and his later films Frankenweenie (2012) and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. 

 

In an unprecedented Tim Burton collaboration, the Hong Kong exhibition sees renowned local contemporary artist Michael Lau create two new limited-edition figures to commemorate Burton’s presence in the city. – Dubbed the ‘Godfather of Urban Vinyl’ for his iconic urban vinyl artworks, and recognised by Forbes magazine in 2008 as a pioneer of cultural trends in the 90s, Lau is iconic in the pop art culture scene as well as a popular household name for his typical street art style.

 

Lau will be recreating two iconic characters: Tim Burton’s Balloon Boy (2009) in a 12” action figure; and Lau’s own iconic Gardener duo, Maxx and his pet BB, in a 6” vinyl figure.  Paying tribute to Burton, Lau reinterprets the characters by merging the signature style of both artists in an approach that embraces their respective creative uniqueness. Paying homage to Burton and showcasing Lau’s style, the characters combine the signature spiral arrow and iconic eyes from Lau’s Crazy Children (2001) series.

 

Speaking to CLOSER of his admiration for Burton’s work, Lau says: “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is a film you can instantly recognize as a Tim Burton film.  There is always something quirky, and there is always something about children, something cute and something that involves sharp teeth and claws…and always a girl with weird big eyes, this is a classic element.”

 

Who is Lau’s most loved Burton character? “There are many, but it has to be Jack from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Jack is so cool. He was only a skinny skeleton with two eyes and a mouth, yet he had so many expressions.”

 

Welcome to the world of Tim Burton!