Aki Sasamoto’s Life Laboratory

The National Museum of Art, Osaka · B3F Gallery · Osaka · –

Everyday objects, sound, language, bodies, and sculptural devices generate changing events. The Osaka version rebuilds the Tokyo presentation with collection works and new performances.

In-depth audio guide

Features: Aki Sasamoto: eight works inside a living laboratory

Plan your visit

Opening hours
10:00–17:00 Until 20:00 on Fridays; last admission 30 minutes before closing.
Closed
Mondays (open Jul 20, Sep 21, Oct 12, and Nov 2), plus Jul 21, Sep 24, and Oct 13.
Closed during the exhibition
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Admission
  • Adult ¥1,800
  • University student ¥1,200
Reservation
No reservation required. Performances require a free numbered ticket and valid same-day exhibition admission.

Information verified · Check the official site for same-day updates

Works (8)

  1. 5. Skewed Lies Aki Sasamoto · Mixed-media installation and performance · Contemporary · 2010 · Collection of the artist (courtesy Take Ninagawa) — Find a bodily route among aluminium pipes, school desks, mosquito netting, and everyday objects.
  2. 4. catch or be caught Aki Sasamoto · Steel, stainless steel, torsion springs, motor, cable, carpet, and cellophane · Contemporary · 2025 · Collection of the artist (courtesy Take Ninagawa) — Find where power enters the structure, then watch how movement reaches its softer materials.
  3. 6. Sounding Lines Aki Sasamoto · Wood, kitchen utensils, paint, resin, film, metal components, fishhooks, motor, speed controller, and timer · Contemporary · 2024/2026 · Collection of the artist (courtesy Take Ninagawa) — Follow a movement along the springs, noticing where it slows, rebounds, or changes direction.
  4. 7. E_O Aki Sasamoto · Mixed-media installation and performance · Contemporary · 2011 · Collection of the artist (courtesy Take Ninagawa) — Find circuits of seeing and being seen among mirrors, lenses, microphones, lemons, and chain-link mesh.
  5. 8. Social Sink Microcosm #1 Aki Sasamoto · Two-compartment commercial sink, fan, speed controller, snail shell, sponge, bottle cap, and other materials · Contemporary · 2022 · Collection of Shane Akeroyd — Choose one small object and test whether you can predict its path.
  6. 3. Secrets of My Mother’s Child Aki Sasamoto · Mixed-media installation and performance · Contemporary · 2009 · Collection of the artist (courtesy Take Ninagawa) — Treat hangers, account book, abacus, socks, grapefruit, and knife shoes as memory triggers.
  7. 1. Wrong Happy Hour Aki Sasamoto · Mixed-media installation and performance · Contemporary · 2014 · Collection of the artist (courtesy Take Ninagawa) — Circle movable walls with viewers, espresso equipment, bar objects, and pulleys, noticing sightlines being cut and reconnected.
  8. 2. Yield Point Aki Sasamoto · Mixed-media installation, performance, and two material-test video files · Contemporary · 2017 · The National Museum of Art, Osaka — Use springs, elastic, steel doors, trash bags, and test videos to ask when a material stops returning and changes irreversibly.

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