By Dris Weiserová, born on May 17, 1932, sent to Auschwitz on October 4, 1944
By Josef Novak, born on October 25, 1931, sent to Auschwitz on May 18, 1944
Beginning on May 15, 2023, the exhibition “Children and the Absurd” is being held at BE＊hive, the exhibition space of Sacred Heart Institute for Sustainable Futures in Tokyo, Japan for a period of one and a half years. Following “Children and War” in Phase I (May 15-October 23, 2023), Phase II (October 30, 2023-April 22, 2024) will feature “Children and Radiation” and Phase III (May 7-October 21, 2024) will exhibit “Children and Hope.” An online exhibition space has also been made available.
In no other era has there been a more absurd situation for children than today. Global-scale problems; natural disasters caused by climate change, wars, and other problems are occurring in developing and developed countries alike, and children in vulnerable positions are being pushed into dire straits.
This exhibition was prepared with the hope that it would encourage visitors to stop and think about the nature of war by presenting war-related works by three artists, as well as the drawings of children themselves and by examining what children felt, thought, and experienced.
The exhibition includes a parachute from the Imperial Japanese army (with the cooperation of a textile/visual artist Kaori Endo), works by writer/manga artist Erika Kobayashi regarding Anne Frank (*Erika Kobayashi's works are not available on the website), children’s drawings from the Terezín Ghetto, and panels about the encounter between the drawings and nonfiction writer Michiko Nomura, who brought the drawings to Japan.
Access: BE＊hive, Sacred Heart Global Plaza (Building No.4), University of the Sacred Heart
4-2-24 Hiroo, Shibuya City, Tokyo 150-0012
Online exhibit: https://kyosei.u-sacred-heart.ac.jp/exhibition/childrenandtheabsurd/en/