Atsushi Fukui, Twin World, 2003. © the artist

Review: Passage to the Future - Art from a New Generation in Japan at Wolverhampton Art Gallery until April 26 2008.

Passage to the Future: Art from a New Generation in Japan, a free exhibition exclusively on display at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, is a collection of paintings, sculptures, installations, photographs and video works produced at the beginning of the 21st century by 11 young Japanese artists in response to the state of the world around them.

The works of Atsushi Fukui, Satoshi Hirose, Maywa Denki, Tomoyasu Murata, Tetsuya Nakamura, Katsuhiro Saiki, Masafumi Sanai, Yoshihiro Suda, Tabaimo, Nobuyuki Takahashi and Miyuki Yokomizo use the tradition of Japanese craft with current trends of animation, such as manga, to create a unique and colourful exhibition.

Despite many items on show being difficult to grasp, Please Wash Away, by Miyuki Yokomizo, really breaks the mould: it’s a visual display of soaps in different shapes, sizes and colours, attached to pieces of transparent plastic which hang from the ceiling.

Nobuyuki Takahashi, Summer Tangerines, 1999. © the artist

Soap has contradictory aspects - though a symbol of purity, it damages the environment during the manufacturing process – which is highlighted when looking at the artificial beauty of this piece, which only contains one or two pieces of real soap within each column; the other 1,600 pieces are made by the artist using casts.

A series of paintings by Nobuyuki Takahashi takes the Japanese art of minimalist composition and updates it to produce pieces that use bold flat colours to interpret famous landmarks. The snow capped peak of Mount Fuji is thus reduced to a floating white fragment against a brilliant light blue background.

Other interesting pieces include Maywa Denki’s traditional products that take on an artistic form, including a number of pieces influenced by fish-motif machines.

Nobuyuki Takahashi, Waves, 2003. © the artist

Although it may be challenging to understand the relevance of some of the pieces as representing the world around them, there is no denying they make very interesting viewing and perhaps provide an insight into the possible variations that everyday household appliances, such as leads and plug sockets, may take on in the future.

A very useful visitor’s book is available free of charge to help guide you through the exhibition and provide an explanation covering the various items being shown.

The exhibition is being held in association with The Japan Foundation, Japan’s principle agent for cultural relations between Japan and overseas countries, which exists to promote a wider knowledge of Japan abroad and to promote mutual understanding between nations.

Writer Jen Walker is the 24 Hour Museum / West Midlands Museums Hub Diversity Arts Journalist for the West Midlands funded by Renaissance. Renaissance is the groundbreaking initiative to transform England's regional museums, led by MLA, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.