Audio-visual art exhibition Eternal Art Space is up and running in Shibuya

‘Hint’ is a high-speed, frame-by-frame video work created by artist Akasha and Italian art collective Spime.Im that makes full use of deepfake technology. The film unfolds from the cameraman’s point of view, giving the viewer the same sensation as when exploring cities around the world on Google Earth.

The film begins with scenes of a decadent city polluted with garbage and destroyed by military deployment, then moves to extravagant celebrity parties, and finally to screen-filling scenes of mass-produced toys such as Barbie dolls, which are controlled by corporations. Throughout the film, the viewer feels as if they are witnessing the apocalyptic future of capitalism and our information-overloaded society.

Kurokawa's installation work ‘re-assembli’ is an immersive video project that uses 3D data created by laser-scanning abandoned buildings and forests. Each of the landscapes recreated in the digital space is projected onto two screens, with the images switching quickly to the accompaniment of techno-style music. This work utilises sound and light to effectively evoke feelings of fear and agitation, strongly stimulating the viewer's senses.

Finally, ‘ground’ is a work in which Kurokawa reconstructs images and sounds that Belgian filmmaker Daniel Demoustier has personally collected over the past 10 years in the Middle East. The film is projected onto three screens and depicts the situations of people caught up in conflict and war from various perspectives.

The film features slow transitions from one scene to the next. These long, drawn-out sequences create tension and oppression, highlighting the horror of war. Gunfire, children's cries, ear-splittingly high-pitched sounds, and the cacophony of blaring alarms appeal directly to the senses.

Eternal Art Space is a collaborative project with Mutek.JP, a festival of electronic music and digital art born in Montreal, Canada. This year’s festival, its ninth edition in Japan, will take place at two venues in Shibuya: Spotify O-East and Womb.

Over 25 up-and-coming artists from Japan and overseas will gather to create a one-of-a-kind showcase that fuses experimental, multi-faceted approaches to sound, live performances and digital art.

The festival features a host of unmissable shows, including a special live set by Berlin-based electronic composer Caterina Barbieri, who explores the intersection of technology and biology; an ‘extreme’ live performance by VMO aka Violent Magic Orchestra, an art music project that was acclaimed at the 2024 Sónar Festival; and an electro set by Kara-Lis Coverdale, a leader of the new generation of electroacoustic music.

The all-night programme at Womb, which has become a tradition at Mutek.JP, will see DJ Tasha, who is active in the UK drum and bass community, visiting Japan for the first time on November 22. On the 23rd, Maher Daniel, a Palestinian artist who has collaborated with Ricardo Villalobos at festivals around the world, will make his Japan debut.

A conference exploring the future of digital creation will also be held during the event at Shibuya Hikarie Hall B. Titled ‘Mutek.JP Pro Conference in collaboration with Mawari’, the conference is a joint venture with Mawari, a company which provides unique 3D streaming technology for spatial computing and DePin (distributed physical infrastructure network). Centred around the theme of new technologies that will ‘open up the future’, artists from Japan and overseas, including Ayumi Nagamatsu and Ayako Ehara, as well as engineers, experts and corporate leaders from KDDI, Panasonic, Mawari, Niantic, J-Wave and more, will take part in a talk session. 

Through symposiums with themes such as ‘The Generative Perspective of Art’ and ‘The Present State of Virtual - Interactive Music Resonating Across Worlds’, you can delve deep into the future of technology and digital creativity. AI-powered simultaneous interpretation tool ‘Pocketalk Conference’ will be handed out at the venue. Admission is free, so don't miss this rare opportunity.

Tickets for Eternal Art Space and other paid events can be purchased from the official website.