A major exhibition, "Improvisation!", a collaboration between musician Otomo Yoshihide and YCAM, will be held at Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM] from Saturday, October 17, 2026, to Monday, March 1, 2027.

 

This exhibition centers on "improvisation," the core of Otomo Yoshihide's creative practice, who has continued to work across genres including free jazz, improvised music, noise music, and film scores.
 
For Otomo, "improvisation" signifies expression and communication generated through the interaction of various elements such as co-performers, the audience, and the environment that constitute the performance space, rather than reproducing something predetermined. This exhibition, created with YCAM's research and development team "YCAM InterLab," presents this concept of "improvisation" not just as musical expression, but as a way of relating to people and society itself.
 
The exhibition features new works created in collaboration with various artists. Particularly noteworthy is the tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto, "DUO." This is a sound installation that uses piano fingering data (MIDI) left by Sakamoto during his lifetime, creating an improvisation with Otomo's auto-playing guitar. Without relying on AI for acoustic analysis or reproduction technology, Sakamoto and Otomo's improvisations are perpetually generated through physical performance mechanisms.
 
Also presented are the outdoor sound installation "filaments" in the Park" by Filament, a unit by Sachiko M and Otomo, and the new work "Dance" (tentative title) with artist Atsuko Mochida. A multitude of speakers, structures, environmental sounds, and human interventions intersect to create unique acoustic experiences for each moment.

Eighteen years have passed since the exhibition "Otomo Yoshihide / ENSEMBLES" held at YCAM in 2008. In the present day, after experiencing the earthquake and pandemic, Otomo re-examines "improvisation" as something that enriches "collaboration = ensemble." He conveys, "I want to begin a new ensemble with YCAM and various people, centered on 'improvisation,' which I believe will allow me to look back at my own starting point."

 

 

The sound installation "without records" by Otomo Yoshihide, artist Taichi Aoyama, and engineer Takayuki Ito will also be presented as a pre-exhibition. Approximately 100 modified used portable record players, designed to emit sound without records, are arranged like constellations, continuously playing an orchestral ensemble through automatic performance. This work, which began in 2005, is considered fundamental to Otomo's concepts of "improvisation" and "collaboration," and serves as a link to the new works presented in this exhibition.
 
The architectural space of YCAM, designed by Arata Isozaki, will also be a significant element of this exhibition. Attention is drawn to the "unpredictable ensemble" over 136 days, generated through the interaction of sounds, installations, people, and the environment scattered throughout and around the center.

 

■ Exhibition Overview
Otomo Yoshihide + YCAM New Exhibition "Improvisation!"
Saturday, October 17, 2026 – Monday, March 1, 2027, 10:00 – 19:00
Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM] Studio A, Studio B, Courtyard, Yamaguchi City Central Park, etc.
Artists: Otomo Yoshihide, Taichi Aoyama, Takayuki Ito, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Sachiko M, Atsuko Mochida
Admission Fee Required (Some areas free)
 
■ Pre-Exhibition
Otomo Yoshihide + Taichi Aoyama + Takayuki Ito
"without records"
Friday, July 24, 2026 – 10:00 – 19:00
Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM] Foyer
Free Admission
 
URL:https://otomo-sokkyo.ycam.jp