Exhibition Highlights

Aida Makoto, one of the participating artists of the first edition of “Roppongi Crossing” series in 2004 entitled “Roppongi Crossing: New Visions in Contemporary Japanese Art 2004” talks about this year's edition in the special interview video - do not fail to check it out!

［1］ Relationships between Self and Others, between Body and Identity

Ishikawa Ryuichi who at times becomes excessively close to the people and landscapes of Okinawa that he photographs as though there were no boundaries between the subject and the photographer, Katayama Mari who produces works by utilizing the dolls she creates as her alter ego, Momose Aya who establishes curious relationships between herself and other people, and Matsukawa Tomona who paints pictures with motifs of parts of the body or the belongings of people she has researched - as we see their way of crossing the boundary between themselves and other people, the exhibition will examine the nature of the physical body that defines “self” as well as identity.

［2］ Revisiting the Past

Fujii Hikaru who focuses on the history of Japan and other Asian countries through research, Goto Yasuka who paints scenes of the wartime from her unique perspective based on stories told to her by her relatives, Sasa Shun who overlays himself onto past events and people, Jun Yang who makes a video work staged in Hiroshima as an homage to Alain Resnais’ Hiroshima Mon Amour, etc. - see works that shed new light on the past and connect to our lives today.

［3］ Alternative Stories Born out of Unique Perspectives

Kobayashi Erika who creates stories in which fiction and documentary are intermingled, Nile Koetting who focuses on the drama concealed in mainstream history, Takayama Akira who researches the laborers working in Japan, Shimura Nobuhiro who researches events that are far removed from globalism and portrays the scenery which has been lost - another untold story will be unveiled, each from their own unique perspectives.

［4］ Exploration of the New Relationship between People and “Objects”

Nishihara Nao who creates installation made of strange objects moving like living creatures, Nomura Kazuhiro whose installations encourage visitor participation, and Yamashiro Daisuke who presents a stage with objects in the leading roles - through interactive art with performance-like elements, they present free-reign livelihood of objects that transcends the functionality of equipments, instruments and alike, and urge us to contemplate on pursuit of life and the environment surrounding life.

［5］ Transforming Senses of Gender and Possible Future

Miyagi Futoshi who by analyzing images of homosexuality that appear in myths and music creates fantastic fictions, Hasegawa Ai whose project is themed with production of babies of same-sex couples that could potentially become a reality with the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) - by focusing on the issue of transforming senses of gender and life amidst development of science and societal changes, we contemplate our future.