Painter O Jun captures scenes and events that have surrounded him, and reassesses the nature of painting in relation to the viewer. For instance, he depicted the death of an acquaintance, and his cousin’s misfortune during the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami with thick and flat brushstrokes. In The Beautiful Nature (2019), the woman in the painting is walking and gets lost while wandering around, yet is rendered with bright colors. O Jun defines the clear separation between the physical body and the ground.

O Jun, The Beautiful Nature, 2019, Collection of the artist, Courtesy: Mizuma Art Gallery, Tokyo

Future SUSHI (2022), one of the entertaining installations, is created by multimedia artist Etsuko Ichihara. The science fiction-like stage artwork illustrates robots operating a carousel sushi bar, and highlights an imaginary sushi menu for the times ahead. Viewers can find rotating sushi that are half-flesh or half-machine, produced from cell transplants from animals, concocted with degenerated digestive organs, or utilize genome editing technology.

Etsuko Ichihara, Future SUSHI, 2022, Collection of the artist, Installation view: Roppongi Crossing 2022: Coming & Going, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2022-2023, Photo: Kioku Keizo, Photo courtesy: Mori Art Museum, Tokyo

Prices range from 100 to 700,000 yen, exaggerating a probable insuppressible inflation economy till the year 2100. In response to many restaurants that had shut down during national lockdowns, Ichihara addresses the distressing effects of the business collapse, environmental adversity, and problems of over-fishing. The playful installation, while humorous and inventive, also sinks deep into reality, as we brave the technological changes in food consumption hereon.

Takuro Tamayama, Something Black, 2022, Collection of the artist, Courtesy: ANOMALY, Tokyo, Installation view: Roppongi Crossing 2022: Coming & Going, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2022-2023, Photo: Kioku Keizo, Photo courtesy: Mori Art Museum, Tokyo

A mysterious dark red-lit room filled with minimalist boxes resembling furniture, fixtures, and built-in kitchen cabinets emotes a somewhat haunting sensation. Something Black (2022) by Takuro Tamayama visualizes the stagnant aura of home confinement. Spending prolonged hours at home has increased our sensitivity to noise and minuscule scratches, dirts and stains on surfaces. There are small TV modules embedded into the boxes, symbolizing our forced dependency on public and social media for the past three years.