Bringing Japanese talent to the world! Nissan Art Award 2020 Grand Prix winner announced!
(Top image) The trophy for the Nissan Art Award 2020. Designed by product designer Keita Suzuki, it was produced in collaboration with Kaikado, a Kyoto workshop that has been in business since 1875.
The Nissan Art Award was established with the aim of supporting outstanding Japanese artists in contemporary art and contributing to the development of Japanese culture for future generations. This year, the fourth edition of the award was held in conjunction with the Yokohama Triennale.
The first round of judging took place in May 2019, and five artists were selected as finalists from 28 candidates recommended by curators, researchers, and others. The grand prize winner will be announced on Wednesday, August 26th!
The Grand Prix winner was Pan Yizhou, who was born in Shanghai in 1987, moved to Japan in her childhood, and is currently based in Tokyo. She is an artist who has been creating art based on the theme of "movement" from her own experiences.
The motif of the work is breakwater blocks, also known as tetrapods. These are wrapped in emergency sheets developed by NAS (familiar as disaster prevention goods), and the installation, combined with a video work, was presented as a new piece. The breakwater blocks, which normally do not move from the shore, separate from their "group" and float in the sea, resembling spaceships. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has restricted people's movement, the work conveys something more than the artist intended.
*Pan Yizhou《where are you now》2020
The works of all the finalists, including Ms. Pan, are currently on display at the "Nissan Award 2020 Finalists' New Works Exhibition" at the Nissan Pavilion in Yokohama (until September 22, 2020). We encourage you to take this opportunity to experience cutting-edge contemporary art, so let us give you a glimpse of the venue's atmosphere.
The first thing that catches your eye upon entering the exhibition hall is Sachiko Kazama's "Dislympics 2020." This 2018 work depicts the opening ceremony of the Olympics held in the fictional city of Dislympia in the year 2680 of the Japanese imperial calendar (2020 AD). It is full of ominous elements such as a sun that resembles a virus, and it brings to mind the words spoken at the Yokohama Triennale 2020 press conference: "Artists sometimes foresee the future."
* Sachiko Kazama, "Dislympics 2020," 2018
On the opposite wall, four new works created specifically for this exhibition are also on display.
* Sachiko Kazama, "PAVILION - Earth's Fart Museum", "PAVILION - White Elephant (Monju) Museum", "￥＝∞", "COUNT ZERO", 2020
Soichiro Mihara is an artist who fuses natural phenomena with media technology, and his motif this time is "water." Three states of water—ice, water, and water vapor—are displayed on a plate that stretches straight like a runway. There seems to be some kind of scientific device installed, but the sight of the three states of water lined up simultaneously gives off a fantastical nuance.
* Soichiro Mihara “Mushumono” 2020
This is the corner of Eiji Wada, who is developing "Electronicos Fantasticos!", a participatory art project that transforms old home appliances into musical instruments.
* Wada Eiji, "Stateless Electromagnetic Orchestra: BC," 2019
The exhibition features a video of five strangers living in different locations who were sent an "Electromagnetic Instrument Manual" and then attempted to assemble and play instruments using items like CRT televisions, electric fans, and boomboxes. They all seem to be having fun, even though they might be scratching their heads and wondering, "Is this really an instrument?"
Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, it seems that some participants haven't received their packages as scheduled, but perhaps that's just another aspect of contemporary art that reflects the times...
Finally, we have a corner featuring Nobuko Tsuchiya, who creates "sculptures" by combining everyday materials and collected scraps such as wool, silicone, iron fragments, cotton, and plastic.
*Nobuko Tsuchiya《Mute-Echoes》2020
It looks squishy and inviting, but you must not touch the artwork!
I wondered if it was all one single work, but since it was impossible to capture the whole thing in a single shot, I tried taking pictures from various angles. (Photography is allowed inside the museum!) As I searched for interesting angles, I started to feel like an artist myself, which was quite fun.
The venue, the "Nissan Pavilion," is a facility where you can experience Nissan's vision of the future of mobility through various content. It features not only cars, but also a wealth of entertainment-oriented exhibits, including games, and admission is free!
The Nissan Pavilion is only open until Friday, October 23, 2020, so be sure to visit!
*The art award exhibition will be on display until September 22nd (Tuesday, public holiday).
What personally interested me the most was "CHAYA CAFE," where you can enjoy salads, sandwiches, and craft beer made with ingredients from Kanagawa Prefecture. Apparently, the vegetables served here are grown using hydroponics, which only requires electricity and water.
One thing that caught my attention was the "ProPILOT Waiter," which utilizes Nissan's driver assistance technology. It's a robot that automatically delivers the food you order, and despite its simplicity, it has a certain charm that made me want to keep watching it.
New works exhibition by finalists of the Nissan Art Award 2020
[Period] August 1, 2020 (Sat) - September 22, 2020 (Tuesday/holiday)
[Hours] Monday-Friday 11:00-19:00 / Saturday-Sunday 10:00-19:00
[Closed] Irregular
[Venue] Nissan Pavilion
[Price] Free
