“Sea routes and waterways” are the central themes of the Tokyo Contemporary Art Award 2024-2026 Exhibition. The latest recipients of the prize are Oh Haji and Umeda Tetsuya, whose exhibition, running 25 December – 29 March, is titled Wetland. It takes its name from the area between sea and land that provides a habitat for a multitude of species, and the works on view speak to experiences of place, space and migration. The prize was established in 2018 as a platform for mid-career artists based in Japan. Winners receive several years of continuous support, including funding for overseas activities, the opportunity to show their work at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and the publication of a monograph.
Oh Haji (b. 1976) has been recognised for Grand-Mother Island. The multi-part project utilises textile-making techniques such as weaving, dyeing and unravelling, as well as photographs and cyanotypes, to trace the journeys and memories of people who have crossed the Pacific Ocean between Australia, Japan and Korea. Oh draws from archival materials, including newsletters written by Japanese war brides and a Chart of the Pacific Ocean published in 1798, to show how personal narratives are interwoven with history. The latest iteration of the piece, exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, will take audiences on a journey around imaginary “islands”, connecting these stories together. It also includes new output based on interviews and research related to Japan’s Ama – a group of all-woman free-divers who harvest an array of seafood, shellfish and seaweed – conducted on the Tsushima and Jeju islands.
The international selection committee, which includes representatives from Kunstinstituut Melly, Rotterdam, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, said: “Oh Haji’s work stands out for its balanced emphasis on both the broad strokes of history and the nuanced stories of individuals often overlooked in grand historical narratives. Her textile creations represent the intricate tapestry of geopolitics, women’s history, and the narratives of migration and immigration.”
Umeda Tetsuya (b. 1980), meanwhile, presents a body of work that is, in his words, “so unconventional it would have been only natural if a public art museum didn’t want to have anything to do with it.” The artist is interested in places – extending beyond galleries into unconventional locations including abandoned commercial buildings, traditional houses, caves, mountaintops and watersides. He uses objects found at these sites, as well as everyday materials and physical phenomena such as light, sound, wind and water, to craft installations specific to a given space. He is also known for sound pieces, as well as unique tour-based experiences that guide audiences into unfamiliar environments. BEPPU ‘0 Tai’, for example, navigated the city’s famous hot springs, geography and cultural areas, involving maps, radio guides and a film. The judges explained: “Umeda Tetsuya has been highly commended for his deep insight into the geopolitical and environmental aspects of the locations where he showcases his work.”
Together, Umeda Tetsuya and Oh Haji demonstrate how craftsmanship, research and cross-disciplinary storytelling can illuminate the histories, geographies and lived experiences that shape specific places – whether carried through water, rooted in community or found on the edges between land and sea.
The Tokyo Contemporary Art Award 2024-2026 Exhibition Wetland, runs 25 December – 29 March.
Words: Eleanor Sutherland
Image Credits:
1. Umeda Tetsuya, Tetsuya Umeda in BEPPU ‘0 Tai’, Beppu and other locations, 2020. Photo: Amano Yuko.
2. Oh Haji, Seabird Habitats, 2022, installation view at “Roppongi Crossing 2022: Coming & Going,” Mori Art Museum, Tokyo. Photo: Kioku Keizo. Photo courtesy: Mori Art Museum, Tokyo.
3. Installation view at “Tokyo Contemporary Art Award 2024-2026 Exhibition ‘Wetland’,” Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2025. Photo: TAKAHASHI Kenji. Photo courtesy of Tokyo Arts and Space.
4. Umeda Tetsuya, Tetsuya Umeda in BEPPU ‘0 Tai’, Beppu and other locations, 2020. Photo: Amano Yuko.
5. Installation view at wait this is my favorite part, WATARI-UM, The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, 2023. Photo: Amano Yuko.
6. Installation view at “Tokyo Contemporary Art Award 2024-2026 Exhibition ‘Wetland’,” Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2025. Photo: TAKAHASHI Kenji. Photo courtesy of Tokyo Arts and Space.
7. Installation view at “Tokyo Contemporary Art Award 2024-2026 Exhibition ‘Wetland’,” Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2025. Photo: TAKAHASHI Kenji. Photo courtesy of Tokyo Arts and Space.
