Born 1976, Tokyo, Japan
Lives and works in Tokyo

Linking art and social activism, Hikaru Fujii’s mesmerising films and videos are the product of extensive field research and communal collaborations. Fujii works by establishing theatrical workshops that respond to and re-enact the documentation of moments of history with contemporary relevance. Topics have included the firebombing of Tokyo, the colonial educational system of the Japanese empire and, following the Fukushima disaster, the ecological consequences of capitalism. For Fujii, art is distinct from politics and everyday life – in his work, he offers a platform for considerations of the future that are not subject to their pressures.

Mujō (The Heartless) 2019 is based on a workshop conducted with Vietnamese students living in Japan as they interpret historical footage of a ‘Japanisation’ camp in occupied Taiwan. The performers isolate and sustain gestures from the historical material, variously chanting, praying, marching and ‘spiritually cleansing’ in an overlapping fashion. Fujii seeks to avoid imposing his own perspectives, reflecting his understanding of group dynamics as the real motor of history.

_{Supported by the Australia-Japan Foundation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ishibashi Foundation and the Japan Foundation.}