Kaoru Furuko
Filmmaker / Animation artist
Kaoru Furuko is an artist, visual storyteller, and filmmaker who uses stop-motion animation as her primary means of creative exploration and expression.
Using stop-motion techniques, she explores and investigates materiality. She crafts, draws,
collages, and experiments with lights and colors. By capturing and intertwining these elements together with motion, sounds, and music, she constructs a unified narrative that embodies her artistic vision.
She perceives her work as a cooperative interaction and conversation between herself and the materials and objects she utilizes, considering them actors, each possessing a unique story to convey.
During her early twenties, while living in South East Asia, she became deeply captivated by the materiality she observed in everyday life. The objects and materials she encountered spoke to her, capturing her heart and inspiring her imagination and creativity. She was drawn to patterns and textures created by nature, the intricate hand-stitched threads in old embroideries, scrap iron discarded outside repair shops, and everyday objects discovered in markets. This naturally steered her towards exploring the world of stop-motion techniques.
Ever since, she has been creating animation works by reassembling and combining materials, local stories, and sounds gathered from various regions. Frequently collaborating with local artists and creators in interdisciplinary projects, she has undertaken this long-term endeavor through artist-in-residencies or relocating to different countries to immerse herself in work, resulting in the artwork of various formats, such as short films, installations, performances, music videos, and video art.
In 2015, she returned to the educational system to deepen her curiosity and research the possibilities of materiality with stop-motion. Her interest expanded into delving into the inner essence and intangible qualities of the elements. Since then, she has been constantly pursuing this aspect of her artistic practice in one series of her work.
Although she uses a traditional and old-fashioned style of working, she also takes in modern and digital technologies for her inspirational sketches, for the process of creation, or as a modern format of the output.
She is mainly active in the filmmaking and animation art scenes, where she works on her films as well as collaborative projects. Her works have been exhibited and screened at film festivals internationally.
Happy to hear from you!
e-mail: contact@kaorufuruko.com
Education
2015 – 2016 Royal Institute of Art, Program for professional artist development, Stockholm, Sweden
2012 – 2014 MFA, Konstfack University College of Art, Craft and Design, Storytelling, Stockholm, Sweden
2007 – 2009 Osaka College of Art, Animation, Osaka, Japan
2004 – 2006 Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
2001 – 2002 Chelsea College of Arts, Foundation course, London, England
Film festivals
2024 36 FILMFEST DRESDEN 2024 INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL (Dresden, Germany)
2024 International film festival FEBIOFEST Bratislava 2024 "Tapping Black Boots" (Bratislava, Slovakia)
2024 Film and Folklore Festival. "Tapping Black Boots"(Trinidad & Tobago)
2023 Ämbar Ceniza Festival of Sound Art and Experimental Cinema. "Tapping Black Boots" (Xalapa, Mexico)
2023 Orizaba International Film Festival FICO 2023 "Tapping Black Boots" (Orizaba, Mexico)
2023 International Short Film Festival BRNO16 "Tapping Black Boots" (Brno, Czech Republic)
2023 Punto y Raya Festival 2023 "Solid Fluid 003 Ao"(Lisbon, Portugal)
2023 ArchFilm Lund Festival "Tapping Black Boots" (Lund, Sweden)
2023 Fantoche International Festival for Animated Film, It’s GIFing! category "Million Billion Nights" (Baden, Switzerland)
2023 International Ethnographic Film Festival "Tapping Black Boots" (Bitola, Macedonia)
2022 ASVOFF 14 Fashion/Culture Film Festival "Tryptokos" (Paris, France)
2021 Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2021 (Tokyo, Japan)
2018 Animation Volda Festival (Volda, Norway)
2018 12th IFEMA International Female Film Festival Malmö (Malmö, Sweden)
2017 Odense International Film Festival (Odense, Denmark)
2017 Viborg Animation Festival (Viborg, Denmark)
2017 Re Anima Film Festival (Bergen, Norway)
2017 Anim!Arte ( Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Brazil)
2017 VOID International Animation Film Festival (Copenhagen, Denmark)
2016 Bogotá Music Video Festival (Bogota, Colombia)
2016 THE KUANDU INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FESTIVAL (Taipei, Taiwan)
2016 Locomoción Experimental Animation Festival (Mexico City, Mexico)
2016 6th StopTrik International Film Festival (Maribor, Slovenia / Lodz, Poland)
2016 BANJALUKA International Animated Film Festival (Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
2016 European Animated Film Festival BALKANIMA (Novi Beograd, Serbia)
2016 33rd Tehran International Short Film Festival,Video Art (Tehran, Iran)
2016 Music Festival O Sol da Caparica (Lisbon, Portugal)
2016 Fest Anča International Animation Festival (Zilina, Slovakia)
2016 London Shows International Film Festival (London, England)
2016 MONSTRA Lisbon Animated Film Festival (Lisbon, Portugal)
2010 Toronto Japanese Short Film Festival (Toronto, Canada)
2009 Sapporo International Short Film Festival (Sapporo, Japan)
Exhibitions & Shows
2023 Tokyo Camera Club Movie Creators Award 2023 at Hikarie (Tokyo, Japan)
2023 The Upside Space, Group show "In the wall, a window" curated by LAND
2023 "Searching for The Little Prince ~ An Interactive Art Exhibition Enjoyed with AR ~" East Osaka Civic Art Center (Osaka, Japan)
2023 Trollywood Animation Festival 2023, Exhibition at Konsthallen Trollhättan, "Story Time"(Trollhättan, Sweden)
2022 Animation & Animation workshop (Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Tokyo)
2021 Kre: Pi Festival, Zahrada, (Banska Bystrica, Slovakia)
2021 Natsuyasumi Kodomo Art Circus Concert 2021 (Toshima, Tokyo)
2021 Pohoda Festival 2021, (Slovakia)
2021 "Drozdy in onsen", Nástupište 1-12 (Topoľčany, Slovakia)
2020 1GB, Spiral (Tokyo, Japan)
2018 Höstglöd (Enköping, Sweden)
2018 Fluid State, Atrier 35 (Bucharest, Romania)
2018 Gojo short animation gallery Kyoto (Kyoto, Japan)
2017 International Biennale of Glass Bulgaria 2017 (Sofia, Bulgaria)
2017 The Royal Institute of Art Spring Exhibitions 2017 (Stockholm, Sweden)
2016 Solo exhibition “Story Time”, Kino Art (Brno, Czech Republic)
2016 Group exhibition “Rundgång”, Royal Institute of Art (Stockholm, Sweden)
2015 Solo exhibition “Tryptokos”, Šopa Gallery (Košice, Slovakia)
2015 “Kaoru Animation”, Bielanoc, Kino Usmev (Košice, Slovakia)
2015 FESTIVAL UMENÍ KONFRONTÁCIE, November (Nitra, Slovakia)
2015 SLAVAPOLIS – A multimedia symphonic composition, A4 – Zero Space (Bratislava, Slovakia)
2014 Solo exhibition “Dlhý, Široký a Bystrozraký” (Košice, Slovakia)
2013 Solo exhibition, Gallerouge #3 (Stockholm, Sweden)
2013 Group exhibition “Nonsense”, Bologna Children’s Book Fair (Bologna, Italy)
2012 Group exhibition “Sound, Sense and Space” (Berlin, Germany)
2011 Group exhibition, Religare Art Residency, Religare Art Gallery (New Delhi, India)
2010 Group exhibition, Koukan-ten, (Osaka, Japan)
2010 “Striped Tiger and White Rabbit”, MHz networks TV Network Broadcast (USA)
2009 Group exhibition, Art Link (Tokyo, Japan)
2008 Group exhibition, Suntory Museum Tempozan (Osaka, Japan)
2007 Group exhibition, Film Cocktail (Osaka, Japan)
Awards and grants
2023 Orizaba International Film Festival FICO 2023, Best Animation Short (Orizaba, Mexico)
2023 Tokyo Camera Club Movie Creators Award 2023 at Hikarie (Tokyo, Japan). Winner. "Solid Fluid 003 Ao"
2023 Kosice International Film Festival 2023/24. Best Slovak Short Film. Honorable Mention "Tapping Black Boots" (Kosice, Slovakia)
2023 HEI Film Festival. Best Experimental Film "Tapping Black Boots"(Kosice, Slovakia)
2023 Prague International Sound Video Awards (Czech Republic). Best Experimental Music Video. "Tapping Black Boots"
2022 Konstnärsnämnden | The Swedish Arts Grants Committee (Sweden) for a Stop-motion puppet making training in Prague
2021 Konstnärsnämnden | The Swedish Arts Grants Committee (Sweden)
2020 Konstnärsnämnden | The Swedish Arts Grants Committee (Sweden)
2019 Konstnärsnämnden | The Swedish Arts Grants Committee (Sweden)
2019 Selected for "Japanese Motion Graphic Creators 100"
2018 Konstnärsnämnden | The Swedish Arts Grants Committee (Sweden)
2017 “Art Award” at The GIFs 2017 | Adobe x GIFMAGAZINE contest
2017 Konstnärsnämnden | The Swedish Arts Grants Committee
2017 HELGE AX:SON JOHNSONS STIFTELSE (Sweden)
2015 EU Japan Fest (Japan)
2014 Filmmaker residency (Košice, Slovakia)
2014 Grand Prize, BBC Worldwide’s Creative Challenge (England)
2011 Religare Art Residency Programme (New Delhi, India)
2009 Tsukamoto Educational Institution Alumni Association Chairman Award (Japan)
2007 Kyoritsu International Foundation Fellowship (Japan)
Residencies
2023 Stop-motion puppet making individual training weeks (Prague, Czech Republic)
2021 Kino Usmev Filmmaking residency (Košice, Slovakia)
2021 Nástupište 1-12 (Topoľčany, Slovakia)
2021 Pop-Up Film Residency (Bratislava, Slovakia)
2018 Glass residency (Bucharest, Romania)
2017 NipponNordic – Universe Accelerator (Viborg, Denmark)
2017 Glass residency (Bucharest, Romania)
2014-2015 Filmmaker residency (Košice, Slovakia)
2013 “Contemporary Past”, Nida Art Colony (Nida, Lithuania)
2011 Religare Art Residency Programme (New Delhi, India)
Performances
2023 "Drozdy in onsen", FULL LOVE DNI 2023 festivalLudovit Fulla Gallery, (Ružomberok, Slovakia)
2023 "Drozdy in onsen", Festival KVANTUM, Pažite cultural center (Topoľčany, Slovakia)
2021 "Drozdy in onsen", Kino Usmev (Košice, Slovakia)
2021 "Drozdy in onsen", Kre: Pi Festival, Zahrada, (Banska Bystrica, Slovakia)
2021 "Drozdy in onsen", Nástupište 1-12 (Topoľčany, Slovakia)
2015 “Bohemian Forest”, Tabačka Kulturfabrik (Kosice, Slovakia)
2015 “Bohemian Forest” Klub (Kosice, Slovakia)
2014 “Ett minne från rymden”, Umeå 2014 European Capital of Culture (Umeå, Sweden)
2013 Storsjöyran Festival (Östersund, Sweden)
2013 “Traces of the Sun and the Moon”, Fasching (Stockholm, Sweden)
2013 “Two Picassos and Two Laundry Ladies”, New Sound Made Jazz Festival, Södra Teatern (Stockholm, Sweden)
Client projects & client films
Direction & animation for SUZUKI Automobile Global (Ad)
Direction & animation for Takara Shuzou (Ad)
2021 & 2022 summer Direction, animation, documentation video direction & stage illustration for Toshima Mirai Cultural Foundation (Workshop & concert stage)
Animation workshop direction and facilitator for Kazokuno Atelier (Workshop)
Direction, art direction, art & animation for GIF magazine (Puppet show & stage)
Direction & animation for International Female Film Festival Malmö (Festival opening animation)
Animation direction & animation for "Mayoke" by Kisaburo (Short film)
Animation art for an animated documentary film "Unkilled, Chapter 1" by David Aronowitsch, Hanna Heilborn (Short film)
2D animator for a Swedish animated documentary film "Andra Stranden" by Åsa Sandzén (Short film)
2D animation for SETTINGS (Smartphone application)
Direction and animation for Kino Usmev, Cinema (Opening logo animation for cinema)
Animation workshop direction and facilitator for the Embassy of Japan in the Slovak Republic (Workshop)
Facilitator for Animated Learning Labo, Culture City of East Asia 2019 Toshima (Workshop)
Illustration for Cutters Studios Tokyo (Ad)
Animation workshop direction, facilitator and documentation video direction for Biratori, Hokkaido (Workshop)
Workshops and talks
2024 Culture Center Stanica Žilina-Záriečie 'Tapping Black Boots' (Žilina, Slovakia)
2023 Anifilm International Festival of Animated Films 2023, "Tapping Black Boots", (Liberec, Czech Republic)
2022 Art Summer Festival Toshima 2022, 4-day stop-motion animation workshop, Toshima Mirai Cultural Foundation, (Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Tokyo Japan)
2022 Konsthall C, Stop-motion animation workshop for artist, Konsthall C (Stockholm, Sweden)
2021 Natsuyasumi Kodomo Art Circus 2021, Cosmic Sumo Tournament 2-day online stop-motion animation workshop, Toshima Mirai Cultural Foundation, (Tokyo Japan)
2021 Guest speaker for an animation course at Stockholm University of the Arts (Stockholm, Sweden)
2020 Stop-motion animation workshop at Kazokuno Atelier (Tokyo, Japan)
2020 Machikado Kodomo Bijyututen animation online workshop, Toshima Mirai Cultural Foundation, (Tokyo Japan)
2020 Natsuyasumi Kodomo Art Circus 2020, 4-day online animation workshop, Toshima Mirai Cultural Foundation, (Tokyo, Japan)
2019 Facilitator for Animated Learning Labo, Culture City of East Asia 2019 Toshima (Tokyo, Japan)
2019 2FAB4U at FabU Cafe (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
2018 Biratori 2-day animation workshop (Biratori, Japan)
2016 Origami animation workshop for kids, “World Children Day”, held by the Embassy of Japan in the Slovak Republic, International House of Art for Children Bibiana (Bratislava, Slovakia)
2015 Pecha Kucha Night Kosice #37 (Košice, Slovakia)
2015 Animation Workshop for kids, Tabačka Kulturfabrik (Košice, Slovakia)
2014 Two-day animation puppet-making workshop, Kasárne Kulturpark (Košice, Slovakia)
2014 Two-day animation workshop, ZUŠ Kováčska (Košice, Slovakia)
Animation project
Kaoru works with traditional folk and fairy tales, always working on location in the place from the culture from which the stories stem. Once there, she collects materials (such as pieces of fabric, patterns, and objects) and observations (e.g. about the ways in which people communicate, behave, walk, talk, what and how they pass on to their children, the atmosphere of their utterances and their content), letting them infuse the style and atmosphere of the animation. She thus interweaves the stories with her information about the presence of the place to which the story belongs and in which it survives.
In her animations, Kaoru recomposes the materials and observations she has collected to create a new whole. Indeed, the sense of the whole is one of the key principles guiding the creation of Kaoru’s animations – the feeling of each piece being in its correct place. On the one hand, Kaoru lets herself be led by the objects themselves, allowing them to find their correct place within the collages she creates. At the same time, Kaoru sees them as her actors and actresses, who file onto the stage under her direction as the curtain opens and the play begins. These two elements (allowing the objects to find their own place in the composition and conducting them as they perform on the stage) thus work simultaneously, resulting in a visual language that is playful, fresh and inventive – full of small surprises that make watching the films such fun.
For the animation she is working on in Košice, she chose the fairy story “The Tall, the Fat and the Sharp-Eyed One.” As part of the process of turning fairy tales into animated films “in situ”, Kaoru often works with local artists and residents. For her Košice film, she has been co-operating with children from local schools and at the city’s children’s and youth library (through drawing workshops, creating props for the film), local writers and artists (on developing the script and storyboard), and with a local musician, who is composing music for the film. (Text by Juliana Berberich–Sokolová)