Storymakers in Contemporary Japanese Art

Storymakers in Contemporary Japanese Art was a dive into a world of fantasy and wonder through a selection of works by five contemporary artists from Japan. Storytelling has a strong presence in contemporary Japanese art, with the significance of sharing and reimagining both personal and communal stories becoming increasingly evident in the wake of major natural and human-caused events. The fairy tale, a genre of narrative that has long told stories about nonhuman beings and non-living things, can give us clues to imagining a more-than-human world that transforms the way people perceive and experience life. 

Storymakers included artwork that evoked imagery from traditional fairy tales across cultures including The Little Match Girl and stories of interspecies relationships and transformations. The exhibition featured a newly created installation by Tomoko Kōnoike, videos by Yūichi Higashionna and Fuyuhiko Takata, paintings by Maki Ohkojima and a flip book animation by Masahiro Hasunuma.

Curated by Emily Wakeling and Mayako Murai, the artworks in the exhibition, with their re-workings of materials, formats and corporeal experiences, revisit old familiar stories in new forms to transcend the anthropocentric worldview. It is this view that has made the modern world blind to vital connections humans hold with the earth and all its inhabitants.

JAPAN FOUNDATION, EORA/SYDNEY

29 July 2022 – 28 January 2023

Masahiro Hasunuma
Yuichi Higashionna
Tomoko Konoike
Maki Okojima
Fuyuhiko Takata

Co-curated by Dr Mayako Murai and Emily Wakeling