Jess Johnson's first solo exhibition in Japan, "NEON MEAT DREAM," is currently on view at NANZUKA in Shibuya. The exhibition runs until December 22, 2019.

The solo exhibition "NEON MEAT DREAM" by New Zealand-born, New York-based artist Jess Johnson is currently being held at NANZUKA in Shibuya. Jess Johnson is an artist who depicts dense phantasmagorias where elements from diverse cultures, such as motifs from different cultures, symbols, horror films, sci-fi, and old-school video games, are mixed. Her works have been exhibited at institutions like the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art and the Tauranga Art Gallery in New Zealand. Her VR work, created in collaboration with Simon Ward, has garnered significant attention as a new form of art that merges technology and imagination.

This exhibition features Johnson's drawings, quilt works co-created with her mother, Cynthia Johnson, and a large-scale installation using VR, a collaboration with Ward. The video work "Genetekker Archaic" is a two-screen animation. It is based on the methodology of old-school video games where players control characters to advance through dungeons. The humanoids that appear in it wander as if searching for an exit from the virtual labyrinth in which they are trapped. The VR work "Terminus" is a multi-faceted production where Ward translated Johnson's world into 3D visuals, mixed with sound created by Andrew Clarke. This experiential work, where viewers drift through a virtual civilization that is neither dream nor reality, not only suggests that the reality of the real and the created virtual reality are becoming equally tangible, but can also be interpreted as a work that prompts us to reconsider the power of imagination and consciousness to create reality, or concepts such as perception and existence.

Jess Johnson “NEON MEAT DREAM” at NANZUKA
Dates | Until Sunday, December 22, 2019
Venue | NANZUKA
Address | Shibuya IBIS Bldg. B2F, 2-17-3 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Hours | 11:00–19:00
Closed | Sundays and Mondays