Big in Japan exhibition

Ever since the Japanese TV series Monkey hit British screens in the late 1970’s, Chris Clifford BA (Hons) MA – Gallery Director has been fascinated by the relationship and similarities between these two geographically distanced places.

Both are Island nations floating at opposite ends of the world’s largest land mass. Both have a rich history of Empire, respected Monarch, are wealthy, highly developed, have extremely high regard for education, are golf lovers, enjoy expensive housing and are famous for being awkwardly polite. The Japanese and British are the world’s greatest tea drinkers, binge drinkers, have illustrious automotive industries, famous media personalities, pop music stars and artists. Both countries are also top tourist destinations whilst, ironically, also being widely recognised as being the world’s worst at speaking other languages.

Maintaining a reserved ‘stiff upper lip’ and being notoriously stuck in the past are both ingrained features of Japanese and British society.

Chris explains: “For many years I thought that the strongest cultural connection between these nations was their shared and unquestioning love of ‘heritage’ but since the 1960’s both countries have undoubtedly sought to redefine themselves as cool and contemporary cultural innovators. Today Britain and Japan are seen as quirky and eccentric global brands that have economically risen out of the late Victorian industrial revolution, and the post war Japanese economic miracle, to become highly sophisticated exporters of their cultural values on the global stage.

“Of course there are huge differences in architecture and cuisine and much to the annoyance of the British everything in Japan works on time and is highly efficient but nonetheless there is much to connect these archipelagic states.

“The influence of Japanese contemporary artists on the global art market has never been stronger than it is today with practitioners such as Yayoi Kusama, Takashi Murakami and Yoshimoto Nara making record breaking sales on the primary and secondary markets whilst forging successful strategic alliances with global luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Uniqlo and Veuve Clicquot that have elevated art’s role in enhancing brand strategy and consumer engagement.

“Additionally, the rapid advancement of global capital and new media digitalisation has provided unprecedented opportunities for the integration of art and design, promoting creative interactions between different these two regions whilst offering a broad platform for innovative design and aesthetic influence based largely on a Pop Art ethos inspired by consumer culture.

“Jersey born artist Emily Allchurch’s Tokyo Story series, which was recently acquired by The British Museum, pays homage to Utagawa Hiroshige’s (1797-1858) last great work the One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (1856-58). Hiroshige’s series was made at a time of huge upheaval in Japan, induced by both the threat and opportunity of Western imperialism. This poetic series of Edo meisho (famous places of old Tokyo) indirectly reflects upon this moment of rapid change and the subsequent pressure on the environment and cultural heritage. Transposing his distinctive techniques of abstraction, vivid colouring and composition into photography, Tokyo Story is Emily’s own record of the city from a contemporary perspective. Shot on location in Tokyo, she visited many of the locations depicted in Hiroshige’s ‘views’ and the resulting composite images reveal a gentle social narrative for the city today.

“Another Jersey born painter, Charlie Haydn Taylor, recently spent several months in Japan at the foot of Mount Fuji on the exclusive Saruya Artists Residency which has led him to produce a new series of paintings which I am pleased to showcase for the first time.

“The striking Japanese architectural renderings continue to evoke a sense of contemplation and isolation, where the lines between the fictional and autobiographical collide and respond to the emotional weight of isolation that can occur when living in a major city, paradoxically surrounded by millions of others. This stylistic approach, of using both photography collaged alongside flat block colour paint, is done in order to create a new fictional reality. The inclusion of various objects, ranging from books to letters as well as household objects and consumer products, allows the viewer to form a narrative within each scene, guided subtly by these references. This is also a comment on society’s draw to the material, which the artist refers to as “further sacrifices human connections, with technology being a large contributor to this idea”.

The exhibition also showcases a unique oil on canvas by the British artist Damien Hirst from his Cherry Blossom series and a playful new work by the Jersey born artist Russell Layton which celebrates the fictional Jersey Festival of Blossom.

Stella Griffiths Lynch has also recently returned from Japan where her studio practise has focused on the culture and fashion of Japan from hairstyles to tea ceremonies and social behaviours.

Chris concluded: “As the Camelia’s and Cherry Blossom Trees are looking at their finest I hope you will find time to visit this unique exhibition and enjoy the displays provided by some of the most interesting and influential artists in Britain and Japan.”