6 - 22 June 2008

Demolishing and constructing, digging and filling  -  the constantly developing city of Tokyo is like a jungle!

The life-styles of 13 million people are also changing day by day, updating minute by minute.

The Tokyo jungle, who knows where it is heading!

It is a scary, comfortable, beautiful, and ugly place.

It is a place where every man’s emotions and desire swirl.

   Tokyo Kamen is a project that expresses the chaotic energy swirling in the city of Tokyo through masked dolls.  It is an open-ended project potentially developing in unforeseen directions due to unexpected encounters.  Such encounters would be the offspring of Tokyo Kamen’s cross-disciplinary activities ranging from art, fashion and design that allow the project to be exhibited at galleries and shops, and of collaborative works with design offices and creators from various fields including web-designers. 

   Contrary to the pop and optimistic atmosphere of Tokyo Kamen’s Travels last year, the second solo exhibition at Art-U room, Tokyo Jungle, will highlight the increasing noise of the city and the conflicts and frictions occurring on the margins between increasingly diverse lifestyles and values.  Having grown by sucking in various vibrations swirling in the jungle called “Tokyo”, Tokyo Kamen dolls will make a full use of the gallery space to represent those themes.  The sight of conflicting and resonating dolls, each embodying a different trend or style, might appear as contemporary Ukiyozoshi (popular stories of everyday life in the Edo period) reflecting the atmosphere of today’s Tokyo.

   The Tokyo Kamen project consistently sticks to crafting by hand the dolls that play a central roll in the project.  Each one is the product of an intricate and delicate sewing stage in which different themes, materials and techniques are employed for each series.  The series for Tokyo Jungle will attempt to use novel materials, such as blue tarpaulin.

(translation: Naomi Matsuura)

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●  Opening hours: Tue.-Sat. 12:00-19:00. Sun.12:00-17:00. closed Mon. and National holidays

●  Reception: June 6th, 18:00 - 20:00 / Guest VJ: Justice & Hero

[Press Release (PDF)]