Without Olympics and still in the midst of a pandemic, Tokyo is finding color thanks to contemporary art

Hilarious flowers to deceive the ambient anxiety. Pop culture has the merit of bringing color and good humor in the midst of a health crisis. This Friday in Tokyo, a flagship exhibition of works by famous artists opens its doors in one of the most prestigious contemporary art museums in the Japanese capital. But in the face of the pandemic, his goal of popular success has turned into a challenge.

After five months of closure, the Mori Museum welcomes visitors once again with STARS, one of the most spectacular exhibitions of recent years. But the current period, dominated by the fear of the coronavirus, "raises questions about the role of museums and art" , explains to AFP the director of the establishment, Mami Kataoka.

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With gondola heads of contemporary Japanese art like Yayoi Kusama and Takashi Murakami, STARS was initially due to start in April and notably attract the tourists from all over the world that Tokyo intended to welcome this summer for its Olympic Games. But faced with the coronavirus pandemic, the museum had closed its doors in February, and a month later the Tokyo Olympics were postponed to 2021.

Museum director Mami Takaoka believes that the gauges needed to view the exhibit safely will "improve the quality of the visit . " PHILIP FONG / AFP

The museum relies on the Japanese

Japan and Tokyo in particular have also been hit by a strong local upsurge in Covid-19 since early July and which continues to worsen: a new daily record of infections in Tokyo should be announced on Friday, with more than 460 new cases , according to the public broadcaster NHK.

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In such an anxiety-provoking context, the public will only come to the museum "to see what they really want to see," said artist Tatsuo Miyajima during a presentation of the exhibition to the press on Thursday.

The number of visitors to the exhibition will be capped by time slot, with reservation required in advance. Visitors should have their temperature checked at the entrance, wear a mask and disinfect their hands regularly. Despite everything, the public will be there, Mami Kataoka wants to believe, believing that these less crowded conditions will even "improve the quality of the visit" of the exhibition.

Both the museum and the artists need it. In early July, star plastic artist Takashi Murakami, star of this exhibition, announced that he was on the verge of bankruptcy on social networks. The disastrous situation of his production company also forced him to give up the second part of his feature film Jellyfish Eyes . Faced with such a crisis, only its multicolored flowers display a dazzling smile.