Marcus Coates: "Transformation" Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan

Transformation Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo 29 October 2010 - 30 January 2011 AES F, Matthew Barney, Simon Birch, Francesco Clemente, Marcus Coates, Jan Fabre, Gabríela Friðriksdóttir, Naoki Ishikawa, Bharti Kher, Lee Bul. Motohiko Odani, Junya Oikawa. Jagannath Panda, Patricia Piccinini, Shahzia Sikander, Sputniko!, Jana Sterbak, Sarah Sze, Masakatsu Takagi, Tunga, Apichatpong Weerasethakul To live is to change. We change daily as our cells regenerate and we learn new things, as times change and we encounter new environments, and as we give play to our imagination. Under the theme "transformation," this exhibition explores the boundary between humans and non-humans. In all ages and countries, countless images and artworks have been created on the theme of transformation. Japan, in particular, is brimming with rich images on this theme, from the legends of old to the manga and anime characters of today. So, why "transformation" now? With to the spread of the Internet, the development of the global economy, advances in technology, and so on, the traditional forms "humans" take have started to become blurred, and a diversity greater than anything seen before has begun to emerge. At this exhibition, a variety of images of things that traverse the human and non-human - including animals, machines, imaginary creatures and bodies with different genetic compositions - will be unveiled through paintings, sculptures, video, archives and symposiums. Together, the "transforming" forms presented express as a single omen our hopes, dreams and fears. The artworks, created by 21 individual artists and groups from 15 countries over a period stretching from the 1980s through to the present, will demonstrate the possibilities and meanings of change today. What is Tokyo Art Meeting? Tokyo Art Meeting presents a range of possibilities for new art by facilitating encounters between various genres of expression, mainly in the field of contemporary art but also including design, architecture and other specialist fields. Under the theme "transformation," the first meeting sees art encounter anthropology. Also, in cooperation with Tokyo University of the Arts, a range of displays, performances and symposiums will be held as part of Tokyo Geidai Trans Week with the aim of helping nurture future generations. Image: Marcus Coates still image from Toge Rice Ritual, 2006 HD Single Channel Video (MC0017)