In an attempt to promote young Japanese artists, Tokyo Wonder Site will hold an event titled "Team 16: Arakawa Tomonori presented by Chaos*Lounge" in Tokyo's youth mecca of Shibuya.
The Chaos*Lounge is a collective of artists that mainly works with the Internet as their medium. More interestingly, though, is that the subject of their work is a completely fictional figure. But the Chaos*Lounge says "anyone can be Arakawa."
A Japanese male character born in 1983, Arakawa is an Internet-based personality that symbolizes Japan's unique otaku (obsessive) culture.
In the past, real people have used the name and appeared at various venues as part of performance-art pieces.
Tokyo Wonder Site have set up a one-room apartment called "geek house" occupied by an Arakawa who is addicted to Twitter and other otaku. They will live-stream performances during the exhibition.
Team 16: Arakawa Tomonori presented by Chaos*Lounge will be held at Tokyo Wonder Site in Shibuya, Tokyo, from Feb. 6-13. For more information, visit www.tokyo-ws.org.
