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23/7/2007

Tech-Mac-Mayacom

Myonichikan, Tokyo

International Group Exhibition of Contemporary Art

Featuring Neil Farber, Laura Ford, Matt Franks, Max Hymes, Yutaka Inagawa, Kounosuke Kawakami, HK119/Heidi Kilpelainen, Aesun Kim, Tom Leighton, Mayumi Matsubara, Alicia Paz, Robert Platt, Sumito Sakakibara, Mai Yoshida

London and Tokyo are both cities of very diverse and exciting cultures. Tech-Mac-Mayacom is an important group exhibition of 15 artists based in both countries, offering a unique insight into the two cultures, with the majority of the exhibiting Japanese artists now living and working in London.

In the late 1960's, an animated cartoon called Himitsuno-Acco-chan by Fujio Akatsuka was televised and became a big hit in Japan. It was so popular that it was remade twice in the late 80s and 90s, influencing many others in animation. It is a fantastic story of a girl named 'Acco-chan', who uses magical power to help people. Tech- Mac-Mayacom is a spell by Acco-chan used to transform herself using her magical compact, an idea which became very popular amongst girls in Japan. The spell was the starting point for the theme of this exhibition which takes elements from the spell such as fantasy, science fiction and Utopia as its foundation.

The purpose of the group exhibition is to create a cultural exchange and to communicate with people through art. Artists are no longer categorised and are free from any fixed ideology to create works from a very personal point of view. In the early 90s conceptual art was abundant within the art scene, the concept was paramount for the artist, the aesthetics of a work were secondary to its theoretical intention and as a result the viewer could not always find the meaning of the work. The artists featured here are concerned with both the aesthetic and the concept behind a work, creating visually stimulating artwork, which can touch our heart not only with an idea but also with an aesthetic. The viewer is offered a unique experience of living between both British and Japanese cultures and how that has influenced contemporary art.

The common elements of fantasy are to be found in the selected artists' works; each offering their own development of these ideas and influences. A fusion of contemporary subculture such as animation, music, and visual arts also to be found with a strong flavour of Western and European culture. The experience of the fusion of the two cultures, is absorbed and transformed into something other and expressed within the works featured.

The exhibition venue, 'Myonichikan' (the House of Tomorrow), designed by renowned American architect Frank Lloyd Wright will underline the intercultural message of this project. The modernist building is characteristic, extending horizontal lines which blend with the landscape. It is one of the most important sights of Ikebukuro in the centre of Tokyo. In May 1997, Myonichikan was designated as an Important Cultural Property for its historic and artistic values. The title of the exhibition, Tech-Mac-Mayacom, conveys the keywords and concepts of magic, transformationa dn utopia in both cultures. This exhibition encourages discussion and suggests an alternative city that is opposed to a utopian ideal.

Opening Tuesday 24 July 2007 h.18

Myonichikan
2-31-3 Nishiikebukuro, Toshima-ku - Tokyo

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