The Osaka Kansai International Arts Festival Executive Committee (within ARTLOGUE Inc.) will hold the "NON Ribbon Exhibition: Mysterious and Cute Things. - Flocking Together" by actress and artist Non at the National Museum of Ethnology (Special Exhibition Hall basement venue), designed by Kurokawa Kisho, from Thursday, July 31st to Monday, October 13th, 2025. Actress and artist NON said, "For many years I have been pursuing art using ribbons, which I have titled ribbon art, and this time I have prepared an exhibition with the subtitle 'Flocking Together'. Please come and see it."

NON's installation will be expanded to the underground space of the National Museum of Ethnology in the second half of the "Study: Osaka Kansai International Art Festival 2025"

The National Museum of Ethnology is one of the exhibition venues for Study: Osaka Kansai International Art Festival 2025, which began on April 13th. The "NON Ribbon Exhibition: Mysterious and Cute Things. - Flocking Together" is part of a collaborative project with the museum's 50th anniversary special exhibition, "Folk Implements Exposition - Discover, Observe, and Gain Wisdom." The work Ribbon Tied on the Back (Kokeshi Lantern), which had been on display at the first floor entrance, will be significantly expanded to the special exhibition basement venue towards the second half of the festival.
Non's motifs, including kokeshi dolls, akabeko dolls, shirobeko dolls, and Tanabata decorations, are sculptures that have been passed down as folk tools since ancient times in various parts of Japan, and through her works she creates new ways to ensure that these folk tools are passed down to future generations. Starting on July 31st, she will be exhibiting a large-scale installation titled "NON Ribbon Exhibition: Mysterious and Cute Things. - Flocking Together -," in which 15 kokeshi lanterns, including 10 new works with multiple layers of red ribbons on their backs, are lined up in a black underground space. The "cute and eerie" world of Non's ribbon art, including "Shirobeko dolls wrapped in butterflies," "Bright red children's nest," and "Tanabata decorations," will unfold.

At the preview held prior to the public opening on July 31st, Non spoke about the exhibition as follows:

 

The message I want to convey through my work

"I have been pursuing art using ribbons for many years, calling it Ribbon Art, and this time I prepared an exhibition with the subtitle 'Flocking Together'. 'Flocking Together' has been a theme for me recently. Both humans and animals behave in groups, but I wanted to express what it would look like if artworks were gathered together, and I came up with this piece to see if it would evoke any particular emotion."

 

Points to pay attention to

"We collaborated with artisans to create 10 new kokeshi lanterns, which are used in Aomori festivals. As this is a summer exhibition, the motifs are summer flowers and fruits. We are also exhibiting 219 "bright red children" of various sizes. When we exhibited them in an old house at Ikuno Art Stay 2023 Non Ribbon Art, we arranged them so that they filled the entire room, expressing a mysterious yet cute look. This time, instead of filling the room, we have condensed them into a space to highlight their flocking appearance."

 

About the exhibition at the National Museum of Ethnology

"This work was inspired by the National Museum of Ethnology and is a collaboration with Japanese folk art. I think that if you view the museum's exhibits before or after viewing this exhibition, you will be able to immerse yourself in the museum's worldview."
"Seeing the Tower of the Sun in person was truly moving. It captivated me as soon as I laid eyes on it, and it had such a powerful impact that I couldn't just let it pass me by; it pierced my heart. I like Taro Okamoto because he is an artist who is a little eerie, but also has a fascinating and mysterious power."

 

The exhibition's curator, Yasuo Nakano, a former curator at the Taro Okamoto Museum of Art in Kawasaki, said, "I would like everyone to see this exhibition, which visualizes the connection between the Tower of the Sun, a symbol of the 1970 Osaka Expo, and the Museum of Ethnology through Non's work."
Daisuke Suzuki, general producer of the Osaka Kansai International Art Festival, said, "Enjoy the Non Ribbon Exhibition: Mysterious and Cute Things - Flocking Together - starting on July 31st, the collection of the National Museum of Ethnology gathered from around the world, and touring each of the venues of Study: Osaka Kansai International Art Festival 2025."

 

"NON Ribbon Exhibition: Mysterious and Cute Things. - Flocking Together -": Event Details

 

Introduction to the works

■Akabeko and Shirobeko Room 
A traditional craft from the Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture. NON has dressed the "Akabeko" in ribbon.

 

■Bright Red Child's Nest 
219 kokeshi dolls adorned with ribbons are on display, with zashiki-warashi as the motif. Have fun searching for and finding the kokeshi dolls with their diverse expressions scattered throughout the space. You might even find yourself hiding among them.

 

■Kokeshi Lantern Highway 
Walk along the mysterious and eerie Lantern Highway, where 15 kokeshi lanterns are lined up in an orderly fashion in a deep space.
Ribbon art in collaboration with the traditional Tsugaru craft, the Kokeshi lantern.
The surface was designed by Non, and an artisan painted it, and ribbon art was added to the back.

 

■Esquisse and Tanabata decorations related to the work 
Clues that complement the world of the work. You can learn about the inspiration behind the creation of Kokeshi lanterns.
A Tanabata decoration measuring approximately 3 meters in length is displayed inside the Sendai PARCO store.
A collaboration between Non's ribbon art and traditional Sendai Tanabata decorations.

 

About Non Ribbon Art

■Expression of Duality 
The greatest feature of Non's ribbon art is its duality, where cuteness and creepiness coexist. Ribbons are generally a motif that symbolizes cuteness and decorativeness, but in Non's work they are a complex expression that also incorporates creepiness and darkness. This fusion of opposing elements gives her works a unique charm and depth.

 

■Multifaceted Interpretations 
Non intends her ribbon art to give different impressions to each viewer. She values the possibility of multiple interpretations, such as what may seem cute to some and creepy to others. This diversity is what gives her work depth and stimulates the viewer's imagination.

 

■ Fusion with tradition 
In her latest works, she has also attempted collaborations with traditional crafts from the Tohoku region. By combining ribbons with traditional motifs such as kokeshi lanterns and akabeko dolls, he has achieved a fusion of classic and contemporary art. This attempt can be praised as a new approach that reinterprets Japanese cultural elements from a modern perspective.

 

■Harmony with the space 
An important feature of NON's ribbon art is how it blends in with the exhibition space. By exhibiting the works in traditional Japanese spaces such as Japanese-style rooms and old houses, a unique atmosphere is created in which the ribbon art blends with the Japanese space. This spatial presentation provides an art experience not just of the individual works, but as a comprehensive installation that includes the entire environment.

 

■Sensory Approach 
In her creative work, Non places more importance on a sensory approach than rational judgment. She values emotions such as "like" and experiences that stimulate the five senses, and aims to create works that move the cutaneous senses. This sensory approach is what draws out an instinctive response in the viewer. Non's ribbon art goes beyond simply decorative works and has the power to stir the emotions and interpretations of the viewer. Her works, which contain multi-layered elements such as the coexistence of cuteness and the uncanny, the fusion of tradition and modernity, and harmony with the space, can be said to suggest new possibilities for contemporary art.

 

Cuteness and creepiness: Non's multi-polarity

Exhibition curator: Yasuo Nakano (Director of the Kyoto Museum, former curator at the Taro Okamoto Museum of Art, Kawasaki)

Taro Okamoto, the theme producer for the 1970 World Exposition in Japan, created the Tower of the Sun as the theme pavilion. The Tower of the Sun is a massive 70m structure. Inside is the 41m Tree of Life, with 292 living organisms arranged in it. Masks and statues of gods from around the world were collected in the underground exhibition room by young cultural anthropologists from the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University. These ethnic materials collected in the underground exhibition room became the core collection of the current National Museum of Ethnology.

Taro Okamoto's own works were exhibited alongside approximately 2,500 documents, including the three-dimensional work "NON," which embodies his idea of polarity.

This time, NON will be holding an exhibition at the National Museum of Ethnology, located behind the Tower of the Sun. The main works in this exhibition are kokeshi dolls. Ribbons Tied on the Back (Kokeshi Lanterns) was exhibited at Sendai PARCO. This spring, five of these works were displayed at the entrance to the National Museum of Ethnology, where they received much acclaim from visitors. This summer's exhibition will add 10 new kokeshi dolls, bringing the total number of Kokeshi Lanterns to 15, lined up in a black space. When viewed from the front, Non's Kokeshi Lanterns has the shape of a traditional kokeshi doll. However, there are several red ribbons attached to the back of the kokeshi doll. This cluster of ribbons gives us a tingling sensation, a tingling sensation on the skin.

The kokeshi design was drawn by Non herself. The original design drawing will also be exhibited at this exhibition. You can see the source of her ideas. The cute kokeshi doll from the front has a flock of eerie red ribbons on the back. Behind the cuteness lies a sense of eerieness.

Taro Okamoto, the creator of Tower of the Sun, painted Wounded Arm (1936), a work depicting a wounded arm tying a red ribbon, during his time in Paris. Perhaps human existence is made up of polar elements: comedy and tragedy, abstraction and figuration, cuteness and the uncanny.
Taro Okamoto based his own thinking on these opposing ideas as polarity.

Non's latest exhibition, "NON Ribbon Exhibition: Mysterious and Cute Things -Swarming-," may be a new example of her polarity, as she has been increasingly demonstrating her multifaceted talents recently.

Minpaku is a treasure trove of materials on the world's ethnicities. It also has a collection of kokeshi dolls. It might be interesting to compare Non's worldview of kokeshi with the kokeshi dolls at Minpaku.
I think it will be very significant to hold a Non exhibition at the Museum of Ethnology, located in the heart of the Tower of the Sun, the symbol of the 1970 Expo, during the 2025 Osaka World Expo.

 

NON Profile

Actress and artist from Hyogo Prefecture.
She is active in a wide range of genres, including music, filmmaking, and art.
In February 2022, she will release the film "Ribbon," which he wrote, directed, and starred in (a special invitational film in the GALA section of the 24th Shanghai International Film Festival, and a finalist for the Shindo Kaneto Award).
In the movie "Sakanoko"
46th Japan Academy Awards "Best Actress Award"
She won the Best Actress award at the 32nd Japanese Professional Movie Awards.
In December 2024, the film "A Hotel Worth It" in which she plays the lead role will be released.
In February 2025, the live-action drama "Happy Kanako's Hitman Life" was released on DMMTV.

In April of the same year, the Netflix film "Bullet Train Explosion"
The Netflix series "Pokémon Concierge" will be available on September 4th, and the Abema original drama "MISS KING" will be available from September 29th.
The film "You Are Beyond the Top" is scheduled to be released on October 31st.
In terms of music, she plans to release his third full-length album, "Renarrate," in September 2025. In the same month, she will embark on an album tour that will take her to four cities across Japan.
In addition, in 2024, she was awarded the 16th Itami Juzo Award in recognition of his creative activities, which have continued to challenge free expression without being bound by the boundaries of acting, music, film, or art.
https://nondesu.jp/

 

Study × PLAS: Asia Art Fair was held from July 21st to 23rd.

The Osaka Kansai International Art Festival Executive Committee is holding a variety of art events as part of "Study: Osaka Kansai International Art Festival 2025."
From July 21st to 23rd, we held the Korean visual art fair "PLAS" and "Study × PLAS: Asia Art Fair." This art fair commemorates the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea, and is an international art event that aims to promote future-oriented cultural and artistic exchange and develop the creative economy throughout Asia.

The fair featured exhibits and sales of works and projects by galleries and organizations from a wide range of fields from Japan and abroad. In addition, a variety of programs were held each day, including the Science Art Award, the Creative Business Contest, and an interdisciplinary international symposium, which explored the relationship between creativity and society from an art-based perspective.

The Study: Science Art Award is an open competition that challenges the world to creative expressions that utilize cutting-edge fields such as AI, biotechnology, video, sound, programming, and ecosystems, with the theme of combining science and technology with artistic expression. It is sponsored by ROHTO Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
At the "Study: Science Art Award," Kadota Yu's work, which visualizes the invisible physical phenomenon of "heat," won both the Grand Prix and the EU Award. The ROHTO Pharmaceutical Special Award went to Mori Koichi and Mashimo Takehisa's work on the theme of "breathing."

StARTs UPs is a business competition specializing in the creative economy that aims to develop the culture, arts, and leisure industries that can solve social issues across sectors. The finalists are eight companies with diverse visions that transcend the genres of technology, art, and entertainment.

AMATELUS Inc., which provides the free-viewpoint/multi-angle video distribution technology "SwipeVideo," won the Grand Prize, lollol Inc., which provides the online distribution system "lolup," won the Excellence Award, STYLY Inc., which provides a modern spatial layer platform, won the ARTLOGUE Award, and Red Cliff Inc., which organizes the Cool Japan Drone Show that inspires the world, won the Sakura Internet Award. Their new business model, which will open up the next generation of creative economy, was highly praised.

【detail】
https://osaka-kansai.art/blogs/news/release250720

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・Official website and social media

Study: Osaka Kansai International Art Festival 2025 Official Website: https://osaka-kansai.art/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/study_okiaf/
X (old Twitter): https://x.com/study_OKIAF
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StudyOKIAF/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artlogue
LINE official account: https://lin.ee/4xPbDT6

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■Company Overview

ARTLOGUE Co., Ltd.
- Representative: Daisuke Suzuki, CEO of ARTLOGUE Inc.
- Head office location: Kita-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture
- Date of establishment: July 7, 2017
- Business details: Planning and management of "Study: Osaka Kansai International Art Festival" / Planning and management of web media such as "ARTLOGUE" and "Art Tourism"