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Joyce Siu

The president of Maywa Denki, Nobumichi Tosa, has made a name for himself in Japan by creating complicated and bizarre gadgets and musical instruments.

Maywa Denki is an art and design company. It is named after the vacuum tube manufacturing company that Tosa's father founded, which went bankrupt in 1979.

Tosa studied mixed media arts at Tsukuba University, where he focused on technical drawing.

Pairing up with his brother Masamichi, they established the new Maywa Denki in 1993.

Now, instead of vacuum tubes, the company is famous for its weird gadgets. The devices are a mix of humour and art, and are described by Tosa as 'nonsense machines'.

'The products are beyond the common sense of most people,' said 38-year-old Tosa when he opened his exhibition at Agnes b.'s LIBRAIRIE GALERIE earlier this month.

The Naki series is one of the most popular product lines. It features more than 20 fish-themed items. Their signature piece is the Fish Cord, an extension cord complete with a fish head and tailfin.

Tosa's weird electrical appliances may be made for fun, but they are the product of his own self-discovery.

For example, the Naki series resulted from a childhood nightmare about fish.

'The fish in my dream may represent my subconscious. I want to understand my subconscious, so I make a lot of fish artwork,' he said.

Apart from designing and creating products, Tosa is also a singer and performer. He will perform his own songs in an offbeat concert in the Hong Kong City Hall later this month.

Tosa described the concert, Mechatronica, as a 'product demonstration'. It will feature an array of funny-looking musical instruments such as Koi Beat, a manual rhythm-making machine in the shape of a carp, and Takedamaru, a saxophone-shaped air horn that makes ultra-loud sounds accompanied by blinking lights.

Some Maywa Denki 'employees' will act as backup dancers performing robotic moves.

Tosa described the concert as 'expensive karaoke', as all instruments will be controlled by computers. But as computers are fickle and some instruments may break down, he says you may see technicians 'perform' an emergency repair, just like in the Formula One Grand Prix.

'With this concert, I want to give the audience a brain massage,' he said with a grin.

Maywa Denki's Nonsense Machines Naki exhibition runs until January 13 at Agnes b.'s LIBRAIRIE GALERIE. Admission is free.

Mechatronica will be staged on October 20 and 21, 8pm, at in the Hong Kong City Hall's Concert Hall. Tickets cost HK$80, HK$65 and HK$50 for students (HK$160, HK$130 and HK$100 for adults). Reservations from Urbtix on 2734 9009.



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