Artistic practice of Kenji Yanobe begins in his fantasy for "the ruins of the future", much influenced by the devastated former site of the 1970 Osaka World Expo which he frequented in his youth. Since the early 1990s, Yanobe has been incorporating the theme of survival in present-day society into his work, creating numerous large-scale mechanical sculptural works with references to Japanese subcultures as well as a critical perspective towards technology.
Read MoreIn 1997, as a part of his research, he visited the abandoned site of Chernobyl wearing an Atom Suit, a protective suit of his own creation, which became the beginning of Atom Suit Project - a project to reflect on the seduction and terror of devastation after the failure of technology and our blind obedience for technological advancement.
In reaction to the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11 2011 and following nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, Yanobe has paused making artworks with critical intent, and turned to work to utter positive messages towards society and future generations, contunuation of a shift that Yanobe had been making since the dawning of the 21st century. Such intent and his wish for recovery from the disaster was first embodied in Sun Child, a 6m tall statue in a radiation protective equipment and with a helmet in its left arm and a geiger counter on its chest displaying zero.
Yanobe currently lives and works in Osaka and Kyoto.
Text courtesy Yamamoto Gendai.
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