KAWAIITOPIA -GO TO HEAVEN (HELL) in Hanno - March 14th - August 30th 2026
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Sebastian Masuda released his new print collection KAWAIITOPIA last year with the 30th year anniversary of 6%DOKIDOKI. Alongside the grand openings of FUTURE TRAIN and Kawaii Monster Land, he has now also opened a new exhibition KAWAIITOPIA - GO TO HEAVEN (HELL), which will run from March 14th 2026 to August 30th 2026 at the HYPER MUSEUM HANNO.
Located at the Hyper Museum Hanno, which is approx. a 40 minutes journey and shares an area with the Moomin Village. Unfortunately, the day my friends and I went, it was rainy, so we were not able to take the boat to the KAWAII CORE ISLAND. However, you can still take a photo from the main area!
Before entering the museum, you are also welcomed by the Polychromatic Skin -Gender Tower-. Its a piece which is supposed to represent that we are intertwined through blood and the misconceptions of gender as we see in our daily life. Its a means of connection. It does indeed look rather.....umm....well Im sure you can understand where Im getting at LOL
The exhibit featured several installations. The first 3 were very cute and fun. Sweets Hell, Plushie Hell, and White Hell. All of them embodied whimsy that Sebastian always incorporates into his work and it can be enjoyed by any type of person, no matter your age, stage in life, nationality. It's things that we can connect on in a global scale. From the small hallway that connects the exhibits was "Real or Hell?" (which was labelled as #7), which was a light projection on the wall that moved and changed colours.
The 5th installation felt the most like a "hell", which was "Materials HELL". It reminded me of Stranger Things in a way! It held a very mysterious aura between the darkness of the room and the singular red lighting. The ceiling was the main part of the piece, which could be looked at as a monster coming to eat you, or a portal into another dimension (those are just my opinions!).
Even though I saw this in Hollywood, back at the "Yes, Kawaii is Art - EXPRESS YOURSELF -" Exhibit, I felt something very different when I went into "Words Hell" and directly into "Colorful Rebellion -Seventh Nightmare-". My friends and I got lucky because we were the only ones inside the exhibit for most of our time there. Specifically at this point, I entered these rooms alone, so I was really in my own thoughts. I sort of felt a flood of emotions, just given my whole journey with 6%DOKIDOKI. I'm at this pinacol point of my life where so many great things are happening and I am reflecting on my journey. And yet again, I find myself face to face with Sebastian's work.
Lastly, the final area included art pieces using a variety of different coloured materials, which were specifically coordinated by colour. Some of the pieces in this section, I have seen before, but they always intrigue me because of how many small details are included. Right before the exit was the KAWAII-CORE, which hung from the ceiling. It had its own pulse to it and I believe that means kawaii is alive in everyone and, as Sebastian put it, we must protect our heart (which is why the spikes may be on the heart).
In the main entryway of the exhibition, there was the gift shop, as well as the Express Yourself installation (which I am a part of! It was also displayed in Hollywood.) and a giant bear mascot for taking photos with!
The most interesting thing to me is that these installations were called "_____ Hell", and it makes me wonder, in this case, Hell isn't necessarily a bad place, but more so just a place of chaos, interruption, and something not really connected to each other, as each exhibit encapsulates a different feeling. Or maybe, its whether you go to heaven or hell, it could look something like this. Whatever the feeling may be, I think each individual can experience it differently!