Tokyo Photographic Art Museum to Host 'TOP Collection: Tomorrow's Dining Table', an Exhibition Themed on Food

Official Website: https://topmuseum.jp/exhibition/5419/

Mikiko Hara, from the series "Fringes of Utterance", 2004, Chromogenic print, Collection of Tokyo Photographic Art Museum

The Tokyo Photographic Art Museum is pleased to announce the exhibition "TOP Collection: Tomorrow's Dining Table".

The "TOP Collection" exhibitions showcase the museum's collection of approximately 39,000 photography and video works from various perspectives. The theme for the second term of the fiscal year 2026 is "Food". Our bodies are made from the meals we eat every day, and "food" is inextricably linked to "living". By looking at artworks with "food" as a cue, memories associated with eating, connections with others, questions about our current environment, and social issues such as aging and solitary dining emerge, giving rise to various realizations.

This exhibition consists of four chapters and introduces the works of 14 artists: Shinzo Shimao, Rika Noguchi, Tokuko Ushioda, Mikiko Hara, Rinko Kawauchi, Ikko Narahara, Minoru Yamada, Izuru Takeya, Ryuji Miyamoto, Manabu Miyazaki, Hiromi Tsuchida, Asako Narahashi, Masaru Iwai, and Tatsumi Orimoto.

By introducing photographic and video expressions created from diverse perspectives surrounding food, we seek to find an opportunity to think about "eating" and "living together" with everyone.

Highlights of the Exhibition

A Photography and Video Exhibition Themed on "Food"

Through four chapters—Room 1 "At That Time, At That Dining Table", Room 2 "Between Food and the Region", Room 3 "In the Environment", and Room 4 "Tomorrow's Dining Table"—we introduce the photography and video works of 14 artists, reflecting on memories of family and our own dining tables, the history of land and environment, social issues, and communication centered around the dining table.

Featured Works

Shinzo Shimao's (1948–) "Life 1980–85" series captures the family's daily life in a Western-style house where he lived with his wife, Tokuko Ushioda (1940–), who is also a photographer, and their daughter Maho. While it is a record of a specific family, the work, which possesses a somewhat universal intimacy and nostalgia, evokes the memories of each viewer. In this exhibition, the works of the married couple Shimao and Ushioda are displayed in the same room, introducing the family landscapes they each observed. We will also explore the appeal of Manabu Miyazaki's (1949–) "Wildlife of Today" series, which highlights the ecology of animals affected by human society, and Tatsumi Orimoto's (1946–2025) performance work "Grandma's Lunch" series, which shows that eating is an act of sharing time and space with others.

Shinzo Shimao, "Snack / I wasn't asked, but I felt like it," from "Life 1980–85", 1980–1985, Gelatin silver print, Collection of Tokyo Photographic Art Museum

Hosting Talk Events Related to "Food"

The exhibition catalog features a contribution by Rain Kudou, a writer and poet who has worked on many food-related pieces. We will invite culinary researcher Yoshiharu Doi to a talk event to think about the world of food from multiple angles. On your way back after leaving the exhibition room, what food comes to mind, and what is the scenery of the dining table for you? We hope it will be an opportunity to enjoy a meal at your favorite restaurant, gather around the dining table with loved ones, think about your own "food", and feel the human endeavors that continue into the future.

Structure of the Exhibition

Room 1: "At That Time, At That Dining Table"

What kind of "food" scenery do you suddenly remember in your daily life? Although not uniform, memories of gathering around the dining table with family may often come to mind. While "food" accumulates as memories, it eventually becomes our flesh and blood, shaping our current bodies.

In Room 1, we introduce the works of five artists: Shinzo Shimao, Rika Noguchi, Tokuko Ushioda, Mikiko Hara, and Rinko Kawauchi, under the theme of memories of family and personal dining tables.

Rinko Kawauchi, from "Cui Cui", 2005, Single-channel video (223 slides), Collection of the artist; Tokuko Ushioda, "Meguro-ku, Tokyo" from "Refrigerator", 1986, Gelatin silver print, Collection of Tokyo Photographic Art Museum

Room 2: "Between Food and the Region"

In the city, there are many places to eat, such as restaurants and fast-food shops. The Ebisu area, where the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum is located, was once the site of a Yebisu Beer factory and has deep ties to food and drink. Of course, the connection between food and land is not limited to urban eateries. Whether it's taking a boat out to sea to catch fish or offering crops to a shrine to pray for a bountiful harvest and good catch, food is intimately connected to each region in people's lives. For us living in the city, such connections between land and food may have become harder to see over time.

In Room 2, through the works of Ikko Narahara, Minoru Yamada, Izuru Takeya, and Ryuji Miyamoto, we explore the connection between land and food