About HENGE

Introduction

Welcome to HENGE. We are the creator of "Transforming Art Objects", based in Japan. On this page, the overview concept and key factors of our work are discussed.

Merger of Transforming Toys and Fine Art

HENGE dynamically transforms its form to the totally different, distinctive forms. These amazing, physically-impossible transformations have been "made-come-true" by the application of advanced gimmicks pricisely designed using 3D-CAD. Try and find out HENGE's sophisticated mechanism and unique transformation process in your own hand.

Insistence on Full-Transformation

Beauty of HENGE works is not only the inspiring silhouettes of the forms the work transforms into, but also the advanced transformation mechanism.
Forms before/after transformation were purposely designed in distinctively different silhouettes so it was a big challenge to devise the transformation mechanism between these forms without removing any parts. There were various matters to consider for this process, such as how to achieve the complicated movement of the work while minimizing the number of parts so that all parts can be nicely fitted within the limited space of the work's body, and also how to reinforce the durability of the work while achieving user-friendly composition of the parts.
The artist had to devote so much time and effort, beating his brains to solve each of these matters by countless trial and error. We have strong feeling for our works, as this is truly an "art work" in which we exerted every possible effort to develop this "full-transformation" mechanism from scratch.
It is true that the transformation mechanism of HENGE works is rather complicated, but we are confident that you will soon feel the elaboration of the work and understand the attraction of the "full-transformation" feature by following each step of transformation process using the actual work in your hand.

Completely Assembled Work (Resin casting)

Each piece of HENGE works is made of the parts directly replicated from the master model created by the artist. Each work is manually assembled and delivered to you as a completely assembled work. "Resin casting" is one of the plastic casting methods; casting liquid synthetic resin into a silicone rubber mold which is the female die of the master model. We chose "polyurethane" especially for our works among all synthetic resins commonly used for this method.

Why do not HENGE works have the titles?

HENGE works are all developed and created based on the artist's unique view of the world and messages. However here on this website, we provided limited amount of information only, without background details of each work. Do you wonder why? It is because we wish to leave the space for you to feel and expand your own view of the world by touching and transforming the actual work in your hand without any preconception. For the same reason, our works do not have the titles but only individual Item Nos. (e.g. Item No. h010101) for the stock control purpose.

Determination of Item No.
HENGE work's Item No. consists of three elements: "key concept", "shape", and "color & details" as shown in the table below.

Packaging

Each work is neatly packed with its accessories in a box. The packaging consists of a brown-colored storage box especially designed to suit for each work, and a set of cardboard spacers and sponge sheets to maximize protection for the work. It is recommended to use this package to store the work when it is not in use. Images below are the packaging for the work "Item No. h010101" as an example. Please note that packaging may vary depending on the work.

Click on each image for the enlarged image.
The clear display stand shown in the Image (10) is used for photo shooting only. It will NOT be included in the package.
These images are of the prototype so the actual specifications may differ from these images.

(1) Outer cardboard box for shipment	(2) Brown-colored storage box for the work	(3) HENGE logo printed on the top of the box	(4) Certificate of Authenticity
(5) Adopters for Form A & B and a metal pipe are set behind the upper cardboard spacer.	(6) Under the upper cardboard spacer, a cardboard sheet and a sponge sheet are placed to cover and protect the work.	(7) The work is securely placed on a sponge sheet with wire cords. Untie the cords and take out the work.	(8) Take out the sponge sheet and a cardboard sheet beneath it.
(9) Take out the lower cardboard spacer, and find a base plate for the display stand.	(10) Contents of Package

Serial No. (Limited Edition No.)

Each work carries individual "Serial No. (Limited Edition No.)" and signature of the artist, all hand-written by the artist himself. Official "Certificate of Authenticity" is also provided in the package. This certificate presents the Serial No. (Limited Edition No.) and the artist's signature, and verifies the authenticity of the work guaranteeing that this is made of the parts directly replicated from the master model created by the artist and manually assembled individually. Please keep this document in a safe place. The Limited Edition No. will be assigned in order of the order application.

In Closing

There are much more new designs and concepts waiting in the artist's notebook for being "three-dimensionalized" in the real world. We have already started a project for the next work which involves totally different concept from the existing one's. We will continue to create amazing and impressive works so please keep exploring our world of imagination and creativity, and enjoy our unique "Transforming Art Objects - HENGE".

HENGE Manager/Artist: Tomoo YAMAJI