YUKO MOHRI, YANG02, NORIMIZU AMEYA, NORIMICHI HIRAKAWA, SOICHIRO MIHARA, FUYUKI YAMAKAWA

This year marks ten years since the sudden passing of Seiko Mikami. After gaining early acclaim in the mid-1980s for her sculptural works made from scrap iron, Mikami expanded her artistic inquiry to explore complex themes such as the relationship between the brain and computers, and between the body and immunity. Her residency in New York in the 1990s catalyzed her shift into interactive art, where she remained a leading figure for over two decades. During this time, she also taught and mentored many students at Tama Art University.

Mikami’s work and presence continue to resonate deeply, inspiring artists and thinkers alike. With the accelerated data surveillance, the rise of generative AI, the recent global pandemic, and ongoing conflicts, the issues she grappled with have become even more urgent over the past decade, making this a crucial moment to revisit her visionary practice.

Despite her influence, Mikami’s work has long remained relatively underrecognized. Many of her installations from the 1980s and 1990s were ephemeral or dismantled by the artist herself, and much of her early practice unfolded within underground scenes, while her later work was primarily situated within media art circles. However, interest in her work has grown in recent years, notably following the acquisition of her 1990s pieces by the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.

The exhibition MIKAMI MEME 2025: The Creative Meme of Seiko Mikami introduces works by artists who encountered Mikami and engaged in dialogue with her, inheriting her “meme” (cultural gene) while cultivating their own distinct worlds. Participating artists include Norimizu Ameya, who collaborated with Mikami in the late 1980s; Fuyuki Yamakawa, who served as her assistant in the early 2000s at Tama Art University’s Department of Information Design; and Norimichi Hirakawa, Soichiro Mihara, Yuko Mohri, and yang02—all affiliated with Studio 5, the department’s experimental studio.Whether consciously or unconsciously, the MIKAMI MEME flows through both their works and their artistic selves.

The concept of MIKAMI MEME can be described as a perspective that perceives the world through flows of information, including invisible ones; a creative embrace of noise and misalignments that arise during information transmission; openness to chance rather than total authorial control; and incorporation of bodily reactions beyond the conscious perception or will of the viewer or participant. Within the MIKAMI MEME, the relationship between artwork and the world emerges as an ongoing dialogue and circulation beyond the work itself.

MIKAMI MEME is an informational node shaped by the many people, encounters, and environmental factors that Mikami experienced over her fifty-year life—it can be seen as Seiko Mikami herself as an information entity. At the same time, the MIKAMI MEME is the product of ongoing interactions with the artists featured in this exhibition and many others.

Through this exhibition, we hope each visitor will find an opportunity to cultivate their own meme, inspired by the artists who have developed their practices from the MIKAMI MEME into new, individual expressions.

An event on Barrikade, originally created by Norimizu Ameya and Seiko Mikami in 1987, will be held by Norimizu Ameya on Monday, November 3 (national holiday) at 2pm – 3pm. Further event details will be announced on here and our social media channels.

Dates: October 18 (Sat) – November 22 (Sat), 2025* Opening reception at 5pm on Friday, October 17* Opens on Monday, November 3

Hours: 1pm –7pm (Closed Sundays & Mondays)Venue：√K ContemporaryMain Organization： Japan Art Inheritance Association

Curation：Yukiko Shikata、Tomoya Watanabe

Participating Artists：Norimizu Ameya, Norimichi Hirakawa, Soichiro Mihara, Yuko Mohri, Fuyuki Yamakawa from Grand Guignol Mirai, yang02

Grants: Arts Council Tokyo [Tokyo Support Program for the Arts and Culture – One-Year Grant] Artistic Creation Activities