Polymath American artist Miranda July spent twenty-five years digitizing and editing her performance work, which serves as the source material for six videos in “F.A.M.I.L.Y.”. This exhibition organized with the support of Fondazione Prada, will be showcased on the fifth floor of the Herzog & de Meuron-designed Prada Aoyama, Tokyo from May 9th to August 26th, 2024. F.A.M.I.L.Y. marks July’s first solo show in Japan.

Miranda July, @craigmontyjames (C.M. James), @donaldklee (Donald Lee), and @goatzfoot (Lisa Ziegenfuss) in F.A.M.I.L.Y. Boombox, 2024. Still from video. Courtesy of Miranda July Studio

The Tokyo exhibition, curated by Mia Locks, features July’s latest work “F.A.M.I.L.Y. (Falling Apart Meanwhile I Love You),” a multi-channel video installation based on a yearlong collaboration with seven strangers via Instagram. Participants send video responses to a series of prompts from July, who then brings them into her studio using the “cut out” tool from a free editing app designed for social-media content. The result is a series of surreal performances in which July and her participants explore intimacy and boundaries through a completely new physical language.

Miranda July, @craigmontyjames (C.M. James), and @thongria (Zoë Ligon) in F.A.M.I.L.Y. Ceiling, 2024. Still from video. Courtesy of Miranda July Studio

This is not the first time July has explored human affection through technology. From 2002 to 2009, her project “Learning To Love You More” consisted of seventy creative online assignments, resulting in over eight thousand submitted entries. Another notable work is “Eleven Heavy Things,” a group of outdoor fiberglass sculptures first exhibited at the 2009 Venice Biennale. This installation invites viewers to step onto or underneath the sculptures and to stick their faces or limbs into specific holes, creating a profound photo stand-in experience reminiscent of an amusement park.