Yukinori Yanagi. ICARUS

Yukinori Yanagi (Fukuoka, Japan, 1959; lives and works in Momoshima, Japan) has been exploring complex themes such as nationalism, identity, and the increasingly delicate equilibrium between humanity and the environment, through large-scale works and site-specific installations.

At regular intervals, the projection of the eye is superimposed on archive images of atomic explosions throughout history. The work can also be associated with the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant environmental disaster occurred in 2011. 

The artist intertwines Project Godzilla 2025 with Article 9: an installation composed of different neon tubes allowing us to read fragments of the text from Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, declaring the renunciation of war and the use of force to resolve disputes.

Inside Banzai Container, between two mirrored walls, there are around 1,200 toy models of Ultraman and Ultraseven, the famed Japanese cartoon superheroes from the 1960s, arranged to create the illusion of the red circle of the Japanese flag—the Hinomaru, a symbol of patriotism. 

However, their gesture, similar to the “banzai” salute used by kamikaze pilots before their death on war missions, prompts us to reflect on the contradictions of nationalism.

Composed of 16 shipping containers, the monumental, labyrinthine installation Icarus Container 2025 leads visitors through a metaphorical yet tangible journey guided by the sun and its light. Entering the corridor, a large screen on the right features the image of the sun.

On the other side, light filtering in from the sky is reflected by mirrors along the labyrinth. On these mirrors are impressed phrases from the poem Icarus by Yukio Mishima, from the book Sun and Steel (1968), in which the poet meditates on the conflict between tradition and modernity in post-war Japan.

Hinomaru Illumination 2025 is composed of neon lights that sequentially transition through three images: Hinomaru, the Japanese flag; Kyokujitsuki, The Rising Sun Flag, which was used by the nation’s Imperial Army and Navy and is still flown by Japan’s maritime forces today;

and the Black Sun—depicting the eclipse’s peak, where the sun is obscured by the moon—symbolizing the shadows cast over Japan’s modern society.

The World Flag Ant Farm 2025 is composed of 200 flags of the nations of the world. Made from colored sand, the flags are housed in transparent plexiglass boxes connected by plastic tubes, along which thousands of ants travel, gradually eroding the flags’ outlines and designs. 

The movement of the ants is an ironic portrayal of the fragility of these symbols of national identity, inviting us to reflect on the broader implications of globalization, migration, and trade.

Fukuoka Art Museum (2005); Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art (2000); University Art Gallery, University of California, Irvine (1998); 

Chisenhale Gallery, London, Beaver College Art Gallery, Philadelphia, Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia (1997); Capp Street Project, San Francisco (1996); 

Queens Museum of Art, New York, Kirin Plaza Osaka, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, University Art Museum, University of California at Santa Barbara (1995); Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum, Japan (1992);
Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions – LACE (1991). 

The artist has taken part in numerous group shows, such as Setouchi Triennale, Japan (2022); Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, Saudi Arabia (2021); Biennale of Sydney (2018); Yokohama Triennale, Japan (2017); Busan Biennale, South Korea (2016); 

Liverpool Biennial (2012); Fukuoka Triennale, Japan, Gwangju Biennale (2002); Whitney Biennial, New York (2000); Biennale de Lyon (1997); Asia-Pacific Triennial, Brisbane (1996); Nagoya International Biennial, Japan; Venice Biennale (1993).