Perdido Street Station, Scene No. 3

SHŪICHI KUSAMORI (B. 1961)

Perdido Street Station, Scene No. 3

gouache on paper

12 1/2 x 15 7/8 inches (31.8 x 40.5 cm)

Executed in 2024-2025.

Born in 1961 in Kanagawa, Shūichi Kusamori has painted backgrounds for Japanese animation since 1980, from Grave of the Fireflies and Patlabor: The Movie to Ghost in the Shell, before serving as art director on Metropolis, Innocence, X, and Psycho-Pass. For much of his career he was credited as Shūichi Hirata, before taking his wife’s family name in 2012.

In 2023, Kusamori was asked what he would paint if he could choose the subject himself. He chose China Miéville’s Perdido Street Station and its city, New Crobuzon: a world of industry, machinery, and magic. He created four paintings to be presented at his first solo exhibition at Riekeles Gallery in 2025, of which this is one of them.

Scene No. 3 looks down a canal into the city center, with tenements leaning in from both banks. Dense pipework, vertical signage, and a low brick arch give way to a cathedral of spires and clock faces rising from the haze. Reds and pinks burn against cold greens and gray, creating a visual experience that keeps resolving.