Takekawa Nobuaki
Japan

Born in 1977 in Tokyo, Takekawa began working as an artist in 2002. He uses nature and animals allegorically in paintings, sculptures, and installations. He attempts to construct a new relation between traditional Western art and Asian modes of expression, while focusing on the problems of thought abandoned by Japanese society whose priority is economic growth. Recent group exhibitions include Real Japanesque: The Unique World of Japanese Contemporary (The National Museum of Art, Osaka, 2012), 12th Biennale de Lyon (Musée d’art contemporain de Lyon, Lyon, 2013), and Don’t Follow the Wind (‘Difficult-to-return zone’ near Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Fukushima, 2015). Alongside his activities as an artist, Takekawa joined an anti-racism group in 2013 (later known as Counter Racist Action Collective) to confront conservative hate speech. His work reflects his experience in civic movements emerging after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. He is currently engaged in a process of casting his works back into society as a practical force.