Curator Talk: Mirrored Lenses: A Brief History of Japanese Video and Media Art

In this talk, curator and researcher Keith Whittle offers an introduction to the development of video and media art in Japan, exploring how artists have engaged with emerging technologies and expanded the possibilities of artistic practice. Tracing a trajectory from early experiments with video and electronic media to digital and interactive environments, the talk considers how moving images and technological processes have intersected with performance, sculpture, installation and other forms of artistic expression.

Presented in conjunction with The Conquest of Imperfection, the first major UK exhibition of Japanese media artist Masaki Fujihata, the talk examines the relationship between art, technology and contemporary visual culture. It considers how Japanese artists have explored the creative possibilities of new media, challenging established boundaries between physical and virtual space, the real and the mediated, and the artwork and its audience.

Through selected artists, works and historical developments, Keith Whittle’s talk provides an insight into the distinctive contributions of Japanese artists to the international history of video and media art.