Japan Unlimited

Free entrance Art

Art gallery with a modern exhibit; features a large photo, two sculptures, and vibrant red banners with Japanese text, creating a dynamic and thoughtful atmosphere. — © MuseumsQuartier Wien, Photo: Pablo Chiereghin

26.09. - 24.11.2019

To mark the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Austria and Japan, the exhibition featured some of Japan’s best-known and most active artists, who explored the boundaries and freedoms of politically and socially critical art in Japan.

This exhibition goes in search of two concepts that denote behavioural codes in Japanese society – tatemae (“masquerade”, which relates to the expectations of the community) and honne (which refers to feelings hidden from the community) – dual principles that are enormously influential in Japanese society – and it investigates their role in contemporary Japanese art. Tatemae and honne govern the relationship between the community and the individual, defining how coexistence functions through certain behavioural rules, laws, traditions and conventions – a phenomenon we see in different permutations in every society. In parallel with this, tatemae and honne reflect aesthetic questions that consider relationships between form and content, reality and representation, critique and affirmation, and so on.

The exhibition considers, for example, the kind of poetic practices, subtexts and metaphors that arise from precisely this tension between the avoidance of conflict and the open expression of criticism. Tatemae defines not only that which is best left unspoken, but also indirect forms of communication – the ways in which things can be reformulated or circumvented. The exhibition considers the control mechanisms that arise in the process, the ways people deal with them, and the position that critique and socially critical art assume in public discourse. In so doing, the works reveal indirect systems of control and associated power structures of official narratives. How do conscious transgressions of tatemae function in a socio-political context – and are they pushing artistic practices to the limit?

As part of the exhibition, six Artists-in-Residence from Japan will be guests of the Q21/MuseumsQuartier, developing new works for the exhibition and contributing to participatory events. In addition, discussions, talks, workshops, performances and actions will accompany the exhibition, especially in the context of the viennacontemporary und der VIENNA ART WEEK.

Exhibit with red walls features Japanese text, red flags, black-and-white signs, two screens displaying videos, and a bench with headphones. Mood: immersive.

Yoshinori Niwa: Proposing to Hold Up Karl Marx to the Japanese Communist Party © MuseumsQuartier Wien, Photo: Pablo Chiereghin

A large black metal box is displayed in a dimly lit museum room. The box has white text in German on its front and is elevated on a platform.

Yoshinori Niwa: Withdrawing Adolf Hitler from a Private Space © MuseumsQuartier Wien, Photo: Pablo Chiereghin

Five glass display cases with dark abstract objects on white pedestals in a room with several framed pictures on the walls.

Hana Usui: Elf Meter © MuseumsQuartier Wien, Photo: Pablo Chiereghin

Large-format photograph of a multi-level building complex with stairways on a white wall in an exhibition

Edgar Honetschläger: Warum ist es so schwer Leere zu akzeptieren? © MuseumsQuartier Wien, Photo: Pablo Chiereghin

Two unclothed people with obscured faces in a large photograph hanging on a white wall, partially covered by a white cloth, with several smaller images arranged in a row beside it.

Ryudai Takano: With Me © MuseumsQuartier Wien, Photo: Pablo Chiereghin

Installation view with multiple wooden frames, hanging fabric strips and a ladder in an exhibition space

Midori Mitamura: Art and Breakfast Japan Unlimited © MuseumsQuartier Wien, Photo: Pablo Chiereghin

White exhibition wall with two framed photographs on the left and three smaller framed pictures on the right

Tomoko Yoneda / Sachiko Kazama © MuseumsQuartier Wien, Photo: Pablo Chiereghin

Three black-and-white line drawings with circular landscape motifs hang side by side on a white wall.

Sachiko Kazama: Picuresque (Hakodate, Kagoshima, Obihiro) © MuseumsQuartier Wien, Photo: Pablo Chiereghin

A dimly lit room features a TV screen displaying a serious person with a neutral expression. Above, a white statue draped in cloth with a red circle adds a mysterious tone.

Naoko Yoshimoto: Melting Core / Tomoko Sawada: Mask © MuseumsQuartier Wien, Photo: Pablo Chiereghin

A dimly lit museum exhibit showcases artwork suspended from the ceiling, a glass display case, and a historical building projection, creating a contemplative atmosphere.

Dynamic, abstract art installation of curved, elongated metal structures with textured black and white patterns, casting shadows on a light wall.

Shinpei Takeda: Antimonument © MuseumsQuartier Wien, Photo: Pablo Chiereghin

A black-and-white photo of a group of sailors in uniform, posed in rows on a ship deck. The backdrop features large ship structures, giving a historic, formal feel.

Gianmaria Gava: Hirohito's New Clothes © MuseumsQuartier Wien, Photo: Pablo Chiereghin

Gallery with two small screens showing videos on either side of a heart-shaped cushion display. The setting is modern and softly lit.

BuBu de la Madeleine & Yoshiko Shimada: 1945 / Made in Occupied Japan © MuseumsQuartier Wien, Photo: Pablo Chiereghin

An art gallery with sweeping, black and white fabric installations hanging from the ceiling. A person observes exhibits along a curved wall, creating a contemplative atmosphere.

Dual screens display images of people peering downwards and an urban landscape in ruins. Headphones lie beneath, suggesting an interactive exhibit.

Chim Pom: Ki-Ai 100 / Enduring the Unendurable Ki-Ai 100 © MuseumsQuartier Wien, Photo: Pablo Chiereghin

A yellow, taxidermied rodent with red eyes on a rocky base, surrounded by miniature models of houses and debris, under museum lighting.

Chim↑Pom: Super Rat © MuseumsQuartier Wien, Photo: Pablo Chiereghin

A tapestry hangs on a wall, depicting the Statue of Liberty against a deep blue background. The statue appears with its iconic torch and tablet.

Flat screen displaying a man in a suit speaking at a podium with flags in the background in an art gallery with framed photos on white walls.

Makoto Aida: The video of a man calling himself Japan's Prime Minister making a speech at an international assembly © MuseumsQuartier Wien, Photo: Pablo Chiereghin

A thickly scribbled black text box with "Business as Habitual" in white letters is illuminated in a dimly lit room, conveying a tone of critique or reflection.

A white, translucent mannequin stands illuminated in an alcove, adorned with a red flower at the chest. Red threads cascade to a floor canvas, evoking a somber tone.

Artists

Makoto Aida (JPN), Chim↑Pom (JPN)*, Gianmaria Gava (ITA/AUT), Edgar Honetschläger (AUT), Sachiko Kazama (JPN), BuBu de la Madeleine (JPN) & Yoshiko Shimada (JPN), Midori Mitamura* (JPN), Ryts Monet (ITA/AUT), Yoshinori Niwa* (JPN), Jake Knight (GBR), Tomoko Sawada (JPN), Sputniko! (JPN/GBR), Ryudai Takano (JPN), Shinpei Takeda* (JPN), Momoyo Torimitsu (JPN), Hana Usui (JPN/AUT), Tomoko Yoneda (JPN), Naoko Yoshimoto (JPN)

*Q21/MQ Artist-in-Residence

Curated by Marcello Farabegoli.