The Pokémon Company has partnered with American artist Daniel Arsham on a project focusing on “fictional archeology.”
The Daniel Arsham × Pokémon project will feature an exhibition exploring the unearthing of Pokémon a thousand years from now.
The work will invite people to examine Arsham’s Pokémon sculptures up close, by portraying the creatures as if they actually existed.
In fact, upon closer examination, the sculptures will reveal a crystallized composition, which is typical of the American artist’s work.
As explained in the video at the end of this article, Arsham has been given access to the Pokémon designs by The Pokémon Company.
They worked together to create miniaturized clay sculptures of the selected design, then made bigger versions in bronze.
“The fictional archaeology is really an idea of taking all of the objects from our present-day and imagining as if we were an archeologist in the future and looking at these objects from our everyday life or our everyday experience,” Arsham explained.
The artist added that he believes there is something prolific and impactful about trying to step outside of our own era.
“It gives us a perspective of our own experiences and lives. Through these works, I hope to be able to shift people’s understanding about time in general,” he added.
Commenting on the partnership, Tsunekazu Ishihara, CEO of The Pokémon Company, said he was happy to collaborate on a project that would widen the reach of the Pokémon brand even further.
“Pokémon evolved as a brand by embracing new technologies and collaborating with partners from new fields ranging from data communication systems and geolocation-related technologies to partners in fashion and art,” he said.
“I’m delighted to welcome Daniel Arsham as our collaboration partner. Through his work, my wish is for people around the world to ‘dig deep’ into their imaginations and think about what Pokémon would look like in a thousand years.”
While there is no official date yet for the Daniel Arsham × Pokémon project, The Pokémon Company said additional details would be available in Spring.
Follow The Nerd Stash on social media for more details on this project.