A large-scale solo exhibition by media artist Yoichi Ochiai (born 1987) is set to open at the Tottori Prefectural Museum of Art (鳥取県立美術館) in Kurayoshi, Tottori Prefecture. The museum's 2027 spring special exhibition will run from April 29 to June 20, 2027.
Ochiai is a researcher and media artist who advocates "Digital Nature" (計算機自然). The exhibition is composed of the results of a pilgrimage-style research project that he carried out in 2026 with Tottori Prefecture as its stage.
About the Exhibition
Ochiai uses the term "Digital Nature" (計算機自然) for a "new natural environment and view of nature." As information technology such as computers becomes highly advanced, humans and nature, and data and machines, merge into one and connect continuously, with no distinction between the real and the virtual. Centered on this idea, he has created a variety of art works using advanced technology, and has presented them at venues including the Osaka-Kansai Expo, the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, and Kirishima Open-Air Museum (霧島アートの森).
For this exhibition, Ochiai draws on the relationship between Tottori Prefecture and the Man'yoshu (万葉集), and also takes into view motifs that express the region's culture and natural features, such as mountain worship and sand. The result is a large-scale solo exhibition made up of works that cross poetry, Buddhist thought and digital art.
Reference Works
The following are reference works. All of the images were taken at the venue of Ochiai's 2026 solo exhibition at Kirishima Open-Air Museum (霧島アートの森) and were provided by the artist. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
《リキッドユニバース：蒼氓蟲譜柱暦》 (2026)
《天孫帰還鳥居》 (2026)
《鰻龍 (Unagi Dragon)》 (2024)
Top: 《コードの涅槃、汎神化した計算機による侘と寂》 (2025)
Bottom: 《ファントムレゾナンス（天孫を巡る旅の後で）》 (2026)
《ヌル庵：騒即是寂∽寂即是騒》 (2024)
About Yoichi Ochiai
Yoichi Ochiai is a media artist. Born in 1987, he began working as an artist around 2010. His works take as their motifs materialization and conversion in boundary areas, and a longing for mass. His roles include Professor at the University of Tsukuba, Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo, and theme project producer for the 2025 Japan International Exposition (Osaka-Kansai Expo).
His main solo exhibitions include:
- Kusakabe Mingeikan special exhibition (日下部民藝館特別展), Kusakabe Mingeikan, Gifu, 2021 to 2025
- 天孫帰るってよ？, Kirishima Open-Air Museum (霧島アートの森), Kagoshima Prefecture, 2026
His permanent exhibition is 計算機と自然、計算機の自然 at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan), 2019.
He has also shown work in many other exhibitions, including:
- 日伯外交関係樹立130周年『アンティポード、はるかなきみへ』展 (marking the 130th anniversary of the establishment of Japan-Brazil diplomatic relations), Sesc São Paulo, São Paulo, 2025
- ミッション∞インフィニティ｜宇宙＋量子＋芸術, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2026
Ochiai also collaborates with a wide range of fields.
Exhibition Details
- Title: Yoichi Ochiai: ぬるぬると とぎすりみがく いなばすな いやしけ吉事(よごと) 万代(よろずよ)の祈り (provisional title)
- Dates: Thursday, April 29 (national holiday) to Sunday, June 20, 2027
- Closed: Mondays (the museum will be open on Monday, May 3, 2027)
- Venue: Tottori Prefectural Museum of Art (鳥取県立美術館), 3F Special Exhibition Room
- Address: 2-3-12 Dakyoji-cho (駄経寺町), Kurayoshi, Tottori Prefecture
- Admission: Adults ¥1,500 (advance tickets ¥1,200), plus other ticket categories (planned)
- Organizer: Yoichi Ochiai Exhibition Executive Committee (provisional name), made up of Tottori Prefecture, Tottori Prefectural Museum of Art Partners (鳥取県立美術館パートナーズ) and others
