Saito Haruka, Nakazawa Daisuke, Yuasa Ebosi. Approach to Alternative Images. February 5–March 21, 2022. Tokyo Arts and Space Hongo. Tokio – Japan

Tokyo Arts and Space (TOKAS) has been supporting the activities of artists, continuously and at various stages in their careers, through open call exhibitions, special showcases, and international exchange programs. The ACT (Artists Contemporary TOKAS) exhibitions, launched in 2018 as a series focusing mainly on artists who have previously participated in other TOKAS programs, introduce noteworthy efforts by up-and-coming artists. Shown at this forth ACT exhibition are works by Saito Haruka, a creator of paintings and installations that incorporate elements of time and space; Nakazawa Daisuke, who is active as a “narrative explorer” and designer; and Yuasa Ebosi, an artist whose work revolves all around a fictitious painter.

The three featured artists attempt in their works to extend certain shared times and spaces, by introducing elements of imagination into events that actually occurred in the past. In the exhibition, Saito and Nakazawa both present new works that were inspired by the history of the TOKAS Hongo building, which was constructed in 1928, while Yuasa presents paintings by a fictitious artist of that time. By linking past events to the present, these works expose the structure of the human society that we are part of, while at once presenting alternative perspectives on the world. Unfolding on the stage of the TOKAS Hongo building, which has itself seen a variety of human individuals come and go as time moved on from the Showa (1926–1989) to the Reiwa (2019–) era, the exhibition aims to inspire visitors to think again about what they see here and now, by connecting to things that once existed there and then.