Mad Image
Bringing together 16 artists across generations and disciplines, this dynamic group exhibition explores the creative energy of ‘MADs’ – better known as AMVs or anime music videos – a phenomenon rooted in online communities where derivative works are made by deconstructing and reassembling existing media such as anime, games and sound.
Co-curated by artists Namonaki Sanemasa and Kazuki Umezawa, ‘Mad Image’ spans painting, sculpture, video and sound installation, reflecting a diverse spectrum of practices united by the processes of fragmentation and reconstruction. Created by artists ranging from teenagers to established practitioners in their fifties, the works capture the fractured landscapes of contemporary life while questioning how meaning is made in an era where digital images and information flow endlessly across screens.
For Sanemasa and Umezawa, who both exhibit in the show in addition to serving as curators, ‘Mad Image’ is less about offering a definitive framework than about creating a temporary space – a ‘small hut’, as Sanemasa puts it – where art can pause, reassemble, and invite reflection. In this gathering of experimental voices, Mizuma Art Gallery becomes a site for imagining new ways to connect amid the disjointed commons of our time.