Exhibit by Takamine

January 25, 2013

Contemporary artist spotlights society's 'oppression' in exhibit

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/cool_japan/culture/AJ201301250037

By NOZOMI MATSUI/ Staff Writer

MITO--Though it's not an association most people would make, Tadasu Takamine's latest exhibition links anime with atomic energy as examples of the "systematic oppression lurking in Japanese society."

"Takamine Tadasu no Cool Japan" (Tadasu Takamine's Cool Japan), on display at Art Tower Mito in Ibaraki Prefecture, takes its name from the popular tagline used to showcase and promote Japanese anime and Japanese street fashion to overseas customers.

"Nuclear power plants and 'Cool Japan' are both things touted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry," Takamine, 44, says. "They share a kinship as things that are pushed upon us."

He said that he is making a point about the importance of keeping a critical eye on such things.

In the exhibition room titled "Haiso no Heya" (the room of lost lawsuits), rectangular protrusions printed with huge blowups of newspaper headlines jut from the wall. The headlines report on lawsuits related to nuclear power plants, some dating back to the 1970s. "Court ruling snubs citizens," one headline screams, while another declares, "Residents who filed lawsuit lose their case." A clay statue of a woman standing in front of all this symbolizes "people accepting the history of the lawsuits," according to Takamine.

In another room, titled "Gaman no Heya" (the room of sufferance), various voices ring out intermittently with the command, "Bear with it!"

"Japanese society is bound by the unspoken understanding that we just have to lump it at times like this," Takamine said. "That is what is happening now, even after the nuclear power plant accident. I want this exhibition to give people a chance to think about how the Japanese people have been oppressed, subconsciously, all this time."

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On Feb. 16, Takamine will be at the museum to discuss his work. The exhibition runs through Feb. 17. The museum is closed on Mondays.