Of the Land

ACT（Artists Contemporary TOKAS）

Hongo

Of the Land

ACT（Artists Contemporary TOKAS）Vol. 8

Related Event
Participating Creator

Questioning Our Connection with the Land Through the Work of Three Artists

Since ancient times, people have expressed their connection to the land through myriad forms, including rites and festivals as a form of nature worship, clay figurines made to pray for good harvests, and ornamental patterns that reflect views of nature and beliefs. These representations reveal how nature—both nurturing and destructive—has shaped the bodies and minds of those who inhabit a place. Today, with cities routinely being torn down and rebuilt, and rural areas becoming increasingly homogenized through suburbanization, regional landscapes are in constant flux, and the distinct identities of places are being eroded. Despite this, we continue to sense our presence in specific environments through scents in the air, the wind on our skin, and the sensation of the ground beneath our feet— perhaps because we possess an innate attachment to the land we live upon in the form of spiritual connection.
　Taking this idea as a starting point, the exhibition focuses on the theme of connection between people and the land, with each participating artist exploring “of the land” from a different perspective, through soil, plants, and natural phenomena.
　Akahane Fumiaki paints a subterranean world where slime molds and microorganisms teem and pulsate with life. Born into a farming family and accustomed to getting his hands dirty in the soil since childhood, Akahane found himself grounded to the land, and his inner world began to attuned the subterranean realm. As this attunement deepened, he began depicting images as though he were slipping into the soil or into the depths of his own mind.
　Kukita Akane is drawn to stylized ornamentation fashioned by deconstructing and reassembling plants. She creates sculptural works in ceramic, acrylic, and metal, reworking ornamental forms rooted in everyday life through the architecture and craft of the land. Through these ornamental forms, which embody local beliefs and views of nature, Kukita explores the bonds between humans and the natural world.　
　Yamada Sanae’s video work presents natural disasters and the people who confront them. Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are natural phenomena arising from the Earth’s internal energy, yet they become “disasters” when people become part of the land, and their livelihoods are under threat. Yamada investigates this phenomenon—which is inseparable from mental and physical existence—through multidimensional perspectives in her work.
　Through these practices, the exhibition seeks to rediscover how we, as beings of the land, are inextricably bound to it, and reconsider what that relationship means.

*ACT (Artists Contemporary TOKAS) is a special exhibition introducing artists who practice notable activities, including those who have previously participated in other Tokyo Arts and Space (TOKAS) programs.

Information

Title	ACT (Artists Contemporary TOKAS) Vol. 8 “Of the Land”
Period	Feb 28 (Sat) - Mar 22 (Sun), 2026
Time	11:00-19:00 (Last Entry: 18:30)
Closed	Mondays
Venue	Tokyo Arts and Space Hongo
Admission	Free
Artists	AKAHANE Fumiaki KUKITA Akane YAMADA Sanae
Organizer	Tokyo Arts and Space (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture)
Cooperation	CAVE-AYUMI GALLERY

Artists

cell/skin/hole, 2023
Wood, steel plate, camping tent, eyelets, wire, cotton, burlap bag, hemp string, glue, gel medium, acrylic, sand, jute fiber, beeswax, cotton water thread, sisal, carabiner
Photo: ITAMI Go　Courtesy of CAVE-AYUMI GALLERY　
©2025 AKAHANE Fumiaki

AKAHANE Fumiaki

Captivated by the world beneath the soil, Akahane Fumiaki uses painting to depict a realm alive with fungi, slime molds, and insects, together with his inner world that resonates with it.
　Describing his production process as “diving into his own inner depths,” Akahane allows amorphous, organic forms—suggestive of both animals and plants—to surface in his paintings. For Akahane, the subterranean world represents a place of freedom, unconstrained by established values or power; it is a site for exploring alternative possibilities and expanding creativity. His practice extends to three-dimensional structures combining materials such as wood, fabric, and sand.
　This exhibition will feature an installation composed of large-scale paintings and sculptural works, comprising new pieces. Together, they evoke an underworld governed by fungi, Akahane’s own inner psyche, and the interior of a body—an unknown world into which viewers may enter and dissolve. Akahane will present a sound performance on the opening day of the exhibition.

［Profile］
Born in Nagano in 1984. Lives and works in Nagano. Graduated with a BFA in Department of Painting from Musashino Art University in 2008.
Participated in “IMAGINARY MUSEUM of the O-collection - magical museum tour Room 6” (2008).

Crest of Life, 2021
Ceramics, negatives, wood
Photo: MIYAMOTO Kazuyuki

KUKITA Akane

Kukita Akane is interested in the ornamentation found in architecture and craft, creating sculptural works derived from these decorative patterns. Stylized ornaments made by deconstructing and reassembling plant motifs reflect local beliefs and worldviews of nature, embodying the bond between humans and the natural world. By extracting these motifs from their original context and reconstructing them through various materials, including ceramic, metal, and acrylic, Kukita invites new ways of seeing these forms.
　In recent years, Kukita has explored the theme of “generative ornamentation,” considering the repeated plant patterns in ornamentation as living forms that spontaneously generate themselves, and attempting to recreate that energy within her work.
　For this exhibition, Kukita presents a new installation inspired by the ornaments of Shirone and Niigata Buddhist altars. Her interest in these forms developed whilst researching scrolling arabesque design in Buddhist art. The exhibition also features works that reflect on natural order and the power of repeating forms. Unfolding from the entrance into the depths of the gallery like a descent into the roots of a plant, the exhibition creates a space where the forms and order of ornamentation become a path to contemplating a more primal and spiritual relationship between humans and nature.

[Profile]
Born in 1987, grew up in Aichi. Lives and works in Chiba. Earned her PhD in the Graduate School of Intermedia Art, Tokyo University of the Arts in 2025.
Participated in “TOKAS-Emerging 2021,” “Local Emerging Creator Residency Program 2024.”

Before It Happens, 2022
HD video, sound

YAMADA Sanae

Yamada Sanae conducts research and fieldwork on land and natural disasters, exploring the relationship between people and the natural environment through video and installation.
　“Topophilia,” a term Yamada once borrowed for an exhibition title, is a neologism coined by geographer Yi-Fu Tuan to describe the affective ties people have with a particular place. Disasters, however, force inhabitants to reexamine the terrain and the environment, bringing to light the depth of their connection to the lives they lead there. What inner forces compel people to stay, even while knowing the dangers? Yamada incorporates everyday images of disaster, including evacuation drills, simulation tests, and scenes turned into media spectacles, to encourage us to rethink what it means to be of the land, or for the land to inhabit us.
　For this exhibition, Yamada presents a new installation inspired by the jishin-mushi (earthquake creature) and the namazu catfish from Japanese folklore, featuring a single-channel video and video work displayed across multiple monitors. The work reflects on disasters—which have influenced human activity and exposed the structures of an era or a society—through the lenses of history, geography, and the psychic dimensions of human experience.

[Profile]
Born in Gunma in 1987 in Gunma. Lives and works in Tokyo. Graduated with an MFA in Design course from Tokyo University of the Arts in 2012.
Participated in “TOKAS-Emerging 2022.”

Support: Toshiaki Ogasawara Memorial Foundation