Summer Sonic is coming back to Tokyo for the first time in three years, but music isn’t the only thing you can enjoy at the festival this time around. This year, Summer Sonic organisers are working with the Agency for Cultural Affairs to present a contemporary art programme alongside the concerts of Post Malone, Yungblud, The 1975, Rina Sawayama, Carly Rae Jepsen and other global megastars.
Titled ‘Music Loves Art in Summer Sonic 2022’, the programme featuring five artists is curated by art collectives ANB Tokyo and ArtTank. The showcase is diverse, with creatives from both Japan and overseas expressing themselves through mediums ranging from photography to sculpture.
Over by the Beach Stage, Argentinian artist Leandro Erlich will be presenting his new conceptual piece ‘Traffic Jam’ (2022; pictured top), where sand sculptures of cars are lined up as a reference to the ever growing global warming crisis.
Meanwhile at the Zozo Marine Stadium, Japanese artists Teppei Kaneuji and Kenta Cobayashi will both be presenting sculptures. Cobayashi's piece 'Fragments of Memory' (2022) doubles as an archway to the concert area, with glittery mirror-like shards that contain fragmented images of Tokyo cityscape. Kaneuji’s sculpture, on the other hand, is a 3D construction made from 2D cardboard images of objects that have been isolated from their everyday context.
As for photography art, you’ll find the works of Brooklyn-based photographer Ina Jang and Japanese photographer Mayumi Hosokura at the Makuhari Messe convention centre. Jang will be presenting a new series titled 'Travel', which features a vibrant array of colours and photographic subjects. Meanwhile, Hosokura's 2019 photographic series 'I can (not) hear you' is a fun and carefree showcase that captures young people across Asia listening to their favourite songs – something that’s sure to resonate with Summer Sonic festival goers.
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