ACCI BABA (born 1977) is a Japanese visual artist and filmmaker based in Berlin, Germany. Working across both still and time-based media, he crafts ephemeral reflections that shape our collective imagination, allowing it to manifest in perceivable reality. His artworks have been recognized internationally in Contemporary Art institutions and New Media Festivals worldwide such as; Ars Electronica Animation Festival (AT / 2015), European Media Art Festival (DE / 2017), Lumen Prize (UK / 2017 & 2018). The works have been awarded in the 13th Japan Media Arts Festival (JP / 2010), 16th Webby Award (US / 2012), Present Future Art & Technology Star Award (CN / 2019). He has been publicly speaking in TEDxTokyo yz (JP / 2012), Intl. Forum of Digital Media Design Education (CN / 2019). Along with his artistic activities, he was appointed as a Guest Professor at KEIO University SFC (JP / 2019-2024).
Unveiling the unseen, decoding the intangible.
A delicate balance of visible and hidden – obscure yet eternal.
Boundaries blur between the manifest and the unknown,
beckoning viewers to unravel the whispers beneath.
EXHIBITIONS
[Solo Exhibitions]
2018 “ab aeterno” Kunsthalle Bremerhaven, (Bremerhaven, Germany)
2017 “aevum-ii” Kablys, (Vilnius Lithuania)
2017 “aevum” REFSHALEØEN, (Copenhagen,Denmark)
2015 “aeon” Eisdiele Galerie, (Nürnberg Germany)
2012 “in between” Uncle-Berlin, (Berlin Germany)
2008 “Zenga”, ZEN BISTRO, (Warsaw, Poland)
[International Exhibitions / Group Exhibitions]
2024 “MaHalla OPEN (Berlin Art Week)” MaHalla, (Berlin, Germany)
2024 “Opening” Mumei Gallery, (Osaka, Japan)
2024 “Shhhhh” (Athens, Greece)
2023 “Sindbad:I Can See Land” (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)
2023 “Shhhhh” (Berlin, Germany)
2023 “Video Art Miden” (Kalamata, Greece)
2023 “Post Quarantine I” To Pikap,(Thessaloniki, Greece)
2022 “Video Art Projects” Municipal Art Gallery,(Thessaloniki, Greece)
2022 “M3:G3” Art Culture Festival Gallery,(New Delhi, India)
2021 “Burning Man 2021” (BRCvr, Cyberspace)
2021 “SHAMANISM”” Gallery Mimmo Scognamiglio artecontemporanea, (Milano, Italy)
2020 “ALTERNATE SPACE”” Gallery ONKAF, (New Delhi, India)
2020 “Burning Man 2020” (MysticVerse, Cyberspace)
2020 “Video Art Miden” (Kalamata, Greece)
2019 “SHIFT+MEDIUM” Shanghai Intl. Digital Vision Exhibition, (Shanghai, China)
2018 “Trans Robotics” 13th Digital Art Festival, (Taipei,Taiwan)
2018 “MVP:London” Windsor Park Hall, (Windsor U.K)
2018 “Uncommon Natures” Brighton Digital Festival, (Brighton U.K)
2018 “Cinema 2.0:Dark Mirrors” Hong Kong Arts Centre, (Hong Kong)
2018 “The Art of Simulation”” ACC Galerie, (Weimar, Germany)
2017 “Dark Habitats Dark Ecology” SPEKTRUM, (Berlin, Germany)
2017 “Eis am Stiel” von Papen Galerie, (Berlin, Germany)
2014 “Internet Yami-Ichi” Transmediale, (Berlin, Germany)
2012 “Waterfalls” Stary Browar, (Poznan, Poland)
2011 “Gaestezimmer”, Atelierfrankfurt, (Frankfurt, Germany)
2011 “100 Artist Exhibition” Ouchi Gallery, (New York, U.S.A)
2002 “NEXT02” Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, (Tokyo Japan)
2001 “Real 3.0” Kyozon, (Tokyo Japan)
1998 “Real 2.0” Kyozon, (Tokyo Japan)
[Artist in Residence]
2023 Tanzlabor ROXY, (Ulm, Germany)
2021 Zumikon Kulturstiftung, (Nürnberg,Germany)
ART & FILM FESTIVALS
[Awards]
2021 Best Experimental Film, Retro Avant Garde Film Festival (RAGFF), (Cairo, Egypt)
2019 Film Star Award, Present Future Art & Technology Star Award, (Shanghai, China)
2017 Special Jury Award, STTP Intl Short Film Festival, (Bucharest, Romania)
2012 Webby Honoree, 16th Webby Award – Netart category, (New York, U.S.A)
2012 Winner Cut & Paste Berlin – 2D category, (Berlin, Germany)
2009 Jury Recommendation Award, JAPAN MEDIA ARTS FESTIVAL, (Tokyo Japan)
[Competition Finalist / Official Selection]
2024 Finalist, ColorPro Awards-‘Momentum’, (Taiwan/U.S.A)
2024 Finalist, Project Odyssey – Season1, (U.S.A)
2023 Official selection, World Cinema Carnival 2023, (Kolkata, India)
2023 Official selection, 5th Meihodo Intl. Youth Visual Media Festival, (Kyushu, Japan)
2021 Competition, Close:Up Reykjavik Film Festival, (Reykjavik,Iceland)
2021 Official selection, Buenos Aires International Film Festival, (Buenos Aires,Argentina)
2019 Competition, Tirana International Film Festival, (Tirana, Albania)
2019 Official selection, Aesthetica Short Film Festival, (York U.K)
2019 Official selection, Dhaka International Film Festival, (Dhaka,Bangladesh)
2018 Official selection, The 16th International Festival Signes de Nuit, (Paris France)
2018 Official selection, 13th Shorts Mexico, (Mexico City, Mexico)
2018 Shortlist, The Lumen Prize, (London, U.K)
2018 Finalist, Euro Fest – European International Film Festival, (St.Petersburg, Russia)
2017 Competition Finalist, Tehran International Short Film Festival, (Tehran, Iran)
2017 Shortlist, The Lumen Prize, (London, U.K)
2017 Official selection, European Media Art Festival, (Osnabrück, Germany)
2017 Official selection, VOID Intl Animation Festival, (Copenhagen, Denmark)
2015 Official selection, ARS ELECTRONICA Animation Festival, (Linz, Austria)
2008 Official selection, Pocket Film Festival Japan (Tokyo, Japan)
2007 Official selection, Edinburgh International Film Festival , (Edinburgh, U.K)
2006 Official selection, RESFEST10, (Tokyo Japan)
2006 Official selection, Shizuoka Contents Valley Festival (Shizuoka, Japan)
2004 Competition Finalist, Holland Animation Festival, (Utrecht, Holland)
2004 Official selection, Los Angeles Film Festival , (Los Angeles, U.S.A)
1995 Competition Finalist, MTV Japan station I.D contest, (Tokyo Japan)
Publications and Lectures
[Lectures]
2021 “Contemporary Art Practices” Spring semester course at KEIO University SFC (Fujisawa, Japan)
2019 “Imagination” at KEIO SFC Open Research Forum (Tokyo, Japan)
2019 “Inside Out – (ENG)” at KEIO University SFC (Fujisawa, Japan)
2019 “meta” at The 4th Intl. Forum of Digital Media Design Education (Shanghai, China)
2019 “Inside Out – (JPN)” at KEIO University SFC (Fujisawa, Japan)
2018 <“Deconstructing Human Beings” at 13th Digital Art Festival Taipei (Taipei, Taiwan)
2017 “Hybrid Identity” at ASIA-BALTIC CREATIVE DAYS (Vilnius, Lithuania)
2010 “Impermanence:諸行無常’ at TEDxTOKYO yz (Tokyo, Japan)
[Publications / Media Coverage]
“Digital Art Fantasy”
(Marie Claire Taiwan| 美麗佳人, Taiwan Mar.2019 Issue #311)
“Galerie ACC zeigt “Die Kunst der Simulation”
(MDR | 中部ドイツ放送, Germany Feb. 2018)
“Die Weisheit eines Affens”
(Nordsee Zeitung | ノードゼー新聞, Germany Jan. 2018)
“Kunst als Kommunikationsform zwischen den Kulturen”
(Nürnberger Nachrichten | ニュルンベルク新聞, Germany Jul. 2015)
“a humanitarian initiative to help people being affected by the Fukushima nuclear crisis”
(Der Tagesspiegel | シュピーゲル誌, Germany Mar. 2011)
“The beauty and the fragility of ACCI BABA’s visual images reminds us of Goya’s Caprichos.”
(Süddeutsche Zeitung | 南ドイツ新聞, Germany Oct. 2009)
“Sprache der Entwurzelten”
(Eßlinger Zeitung, Germany Oct. 2009)
“100 Japanese Motion Graphic Creators 2006 , 2007”
(BNN publishing, Japan 2006 & 2007)
Academic Role / Education
2019 Guest Professor, KEIO University SFC, (Fujisawa Japan)
2000 Bachelors Degree, KEIO University Faculty of Environment and Information
Commissioned Works
[Graphic Design & Illustrations]
2016 Artwork featured in cover page for “where magazine”, (Spain)
2015 Key Visual Artwork RedBull Music Academy online-magazine (Austria)
2014 Artwork featured in cover page for “magazine poly” (France)
2011 Artwork featured in cover page for “TANZ Magazine” (Germany)
2010 Key Visual Artwork Nike i.D (Netherlands)
[Film Direction]
2017 Documentary Film Plantica ‘Jakarta Fashion Show’ (Jakarta, Indonesia)
2015 Documentary Film Plantica ‘nomadic’ (Tokyo, Japan)
2007 Opening trailer for Sony ‘S’, Sony Entertainment (Tokyo, Japan)
2006 Visual Projection Roppongi Hills Countdown ‘2005 – 2006’ (Tokyo, Japan)
2005 Music Video ‘mujc: Axis Mundi’ (Tokyo, Japan)
2005 Opening Sequence for ‘Tokyo International Film Festival’ (Tokyo, Japan)
2004 Opening Visual Korea National Athlete Meet (Daejeon, South Korea)
2003 Music Video ‘Oranger: Going Under’ (San Francisco, U.S.A)
[Visual Artworks / Arts & Stage Performance]
2024 Visual direction for Zelia Tan’s “REfract” | WestK,(Hong Kong)
2023 Visual artwork for Eric Schaefer Ensemble’s “Hayashi” | Leipzig Opera,(Leipzig, Germany)
2020 Visual artwork for Yui Kawaguchi’s “mugen”, Sophiensaele, (Berlin, Germany)
2013 Visual design for Ming Wong’s “Me-in-Me”, Shiseido Gallery, (Tokyo, Japan)
2009 Visual artwork for Helena Waldmann’s “Burkabondage”, (Berlin, Germany)
Premiered at Berliner Festspiele, Asia Tour supported by Goethe Institute
2005 Visual artwork for Yui Kawaguchi’s “REM: Black Cat”, Tanztage, (Berlin, Germany)