For the next three months, the Tokyo Opera City Gallery is devoting its large exhibition space to "JAM: Tokyo-London." Born of a cross-cultural happening in England in 1996, this second installment of JAM focuses on art, fashion and music. Premiered at the Barbican Gallery in London last summer and now transported to Tokyo, this incarnation features work in a wide variety of mostly new media by more than 40 young artists and artists' groups from or based in England and Japan.
Co-curator Jane Alison of the Barbican describes "JAM" as "an exploration of inspirational, creative practice in an urban environment," and it is quickly apparent from the way the Opera City has laid out the show that the recipe for "JAM" also includes a big dollop of contemporary-style commodity fetishism.
There are more than a few commercial products on display here -- e.g., racks of British and Japanese youth-culture clothing, Cornelius' limited-edition phonograph players, and fashion designer Nigo's "A Bathing Ape" action figures, which can be found in trendy Harajuku shops.