A rumble, a tremor, a roar: these sounds pervade the space with a sense of inevitable disquiet. A heap of scraps and abandoned objects comes alive in a constellation of neon Japanese characters that enlighten the scene like scarlet embers. The apocalyptic jumble trembles and emerges from the darkness that envelopes the visitor on both a visual and auditory level. The incessant crackling continues to propagate through the wide halls of Pirelli HangarBicocca in Milan, where Yukinori Yanagi’s solo exhibition ICARUS is currently on view. Curated by Vicente Todolí with Fiammetta Griccioli – artistic director and curator respectively at the foundation – ICARUS is the first major comprehensive exhibition in Europe dedicated to the Japanese artist, showcasing a selection of key works from the last three decades alongside new pieces that were conceived for this venue. The exhibition is an occasion to reflect on topics that are more relevant than ever in the present age, such as nationalism, borders, identity and the increasingly fragile equilibrium between humanity and the environment.

Born in Fukuoka in 1959, Yanagi studied painting at the Musashino Art University in Tokyo and later received an MFA in Sculpture from Yale University in 1990. In 1993, he participated in the 45th Venice Biennale, presenting his iconic installation The World Flag Ant Farm (1990) that was awarded the Aperto ‘93 prize; the work is also part of the Milan retrospective. Since 2010, Yanagi has been living on the island of Momoshima in the Seto Inland Sea: similarly to other remote islands of the Japanese archipelago, Momoshima has gradually been regenerated through the artist’s site-specific interventions. Working far from the public eye, Yanagi converted several abandoned buildings from the 1950s to establish the artistic hub ART BASE MOMOSHIMA, where new installations and exhibitions continue to come into the light.

The title of the exhibition creates a symbolic bridge between Yanagi’s work and European culture through a direct reference to ancient Greece. According to Greek mythology, Icarus was the son of Daedalus, the architect who designed the legendary labyrinth on the island of Crete. Their attempt to escape the labyrinth after being forcibly imprisoned by King Minos led to the development of artificial wings to fly over the sea. However, Icarus made the mistake of getting so close to the sun that he melted the wax that joined the wings to his arms and tragically plunged into the waves. According to Yanagi, Icarus’ myth still “serves as a cautionary message about human arrogance born from overconfidence in technology”. The opening section of the exhibition highlights this by confronting the visitor with the impressive installation Project God-zilla Onomichi U3 (2017), where a heap of debris surmounted by a giant eye becomes a warning of the possible consequences of human hubris and a desire to replace divine will. This work intertwines with Article 9 (1994), a series of flashing neon structures that reproduce fragments from Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution. The article was drafted under the influence of the Allied Powers at the end of the Second World War and is particularly emblematic of modern Japan – a country where, in the artist’s words, “democracy came (…) like a gift from the above”. It declares the country’s renunciation of war and its disavowal of the use of force to resolve international disputes.

A recurring element in Yanagi’s research is the use of shipping containers to symbolise the artist’s notion of “wandering as a permanent condition”. Through his intervention, containers are transformed into illusionistic devices, as we can see in Banzai Corner (1991), where two mirrored walls amplify the reflection of around 1,200 red and silver plastic toy models of Ultraman and Ultraseven, two famous cartoon superheroes from the 1960s. This tribute to post-war Japanese sci-fi imagery, strongly influenced by the trauma of the atomic bomb, also prompts us to reflect on the contradictions of nationalism. Furthermore, containers become protagonists within the monumental setting of Navate, where the visitor is invited to immerse in Icarus Container (2025), a labyrinthine path that was originally conceived for the 21st Biennale of Sydney in 2018. Guided by the reflected presence of the sun, the path unfolds into a mirroring environment punctuated by verses from the poem Icarus by Yukio Mishima (1925-1970), one of the most important Japanese intellectuals from the 20th century. At the very end, the installation opens onto a view of the Italian sky through an inclined mirror, demonstrating the human yearning for infinity in material form.

As we proceed into the venue, we can observe the dialogue between Yanagi’s works, the sheet metal and the concrete constituting the building, a former factory which was once among the leading centres for technological developments in Italy. Electricity triumphs as a medium in Hinomaru Illumination (2025), which proposes an illusion inspired by the Japanese flag and the sun’s peak, now obscured by a moon eclipse. The instability of neon flashing lights embodies the changeableness of national identities. In conclusion, The World Flag Ant Farm (1990) issues a poignant warning to the contemporary age through the almost imperceptible disruption of 200 national flags that are disintegrated by ants who patiently harvest the seeds that constitute them. In times of war, intolerance and polarisation, Yanagi’s work invites us to meditate on a recent history that goes far beyond the borders of his home country.

Yukinori Yanagi’s solo exhibition ‘ICARUS’ is on view at Pirelli HangarBicocca from March 27 - July 27, 2025.