Exhibition: “Plastic Dinoland”
Opening: 02 pm – 06 pm, Sat 15 Mar 2025
Exhibition: 09 am – 06 pm, 16 Mar – 01 June 2025
Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam
27 Quang Trung Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
From the organizer:
The Japan Foundation Vietnam is pleased to present “Plastic Dinoland”, an art exhibition by internationally acclaimed Japanese artist Hiroshi Fuji. The exhibition will run from March 15th (Sat) to June 1st (Sun) 2025 and will feature colorful installations of dinosaurs and animals made from a huge amount of unwanted toys collected in Japan. The exhibition will be enjoyable for both adults and children, while also encouraging people to think about consumption and environmental issues.
Hiroshi Fuji has been creating works that explore the relationship between consumer society, waste, and the environment. Since the 1970s, he has been interested in the proliferation of plastic, and through a toy exchange project called “Kaekko Bazaar,” he witnessed the reality of the large amounts of discarded plastic toys. To date, he has collected over 50,000 toys, which he has reused and transformed into works of art. However, this is only a small portion of the world’s total plastic waste.
Plastic Dinoland will feature large-scale installations of dinosaurs and various creatures made from discarded toys. The exhibition will present the perspective that the plastic we use every day is made from fossil fuels derived from living organisms such as dinosaurs, highlighting the circular structure of consumption and disposal. Through his colorful and visually appealing works, Hiroshi Fuji asks viewers, “What role does plastic play in my life, and what impact does it have on the planet?”
About Fuji Hiroshi
Born in Kagoshima Prefecture in 1960.
Artist, professor at Akita University of Art, chairman of the NPO Arts Center Akita, and director of the Akita City Cultural Creation Center.
He studied at Kyoto City University of Arts and explored artistic expressions related to cities and regions. After being assigned to Papua New Guinea as a member of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, he started engaging in art activities with themes of society and the region. He has held workshops across the country, such as “Kaekko Bazaar,” and has contributed to regional revitalization and disaster prevention education. Based in Fukuoka and Akita, he develops works and art projects that utilize waste materials, and is also involved in the management of cultural facilities.
“The vast amount of waste we generate becomes invisible as it disappears right before our eyes. I want to turn this invisible problem into something that cannot be ignored – I want to present artwork that stops viewers in their tracks and moves them.”
– Fuji Hiroshi
Major solo exhibitions
2018 – Jurassic Plastics (Sydney Town Hall, Sydney, Australia)
2014 – Toysaurus Undiscovered Land (Hara Museum of Contemporary Art ARC, Gunma, Japan)
2012 – Central Frog Station (Arts Chiyoda 3331, Tokyo, Japan)
2005 – Arts over Doubts! (Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan)
2004 – Pla. Pra. Mode (The Japan Foundation Bangkok, Japan/Thailand)
1999 – Vinyl Plastic Collection (The HakoneOpen-Air Museum, Kanagawa, Japan)
1994 – Frog Campaign (Kurashiki City Museum of Art, Takamatsu Art Museum, Fukuyama Museum of Art, Okayama, Kagawa, Hiroshima, Japan)
Participated projects/festivals:
2016 – KENPOKU ART 2016 (Ibaraki, Japan)
2012 – Water and Earth Art Festival (Niigata, Japan)
2010 – Setouchi Triennale (Setouchi, Japan)
2008 – SITE Santa Fe Biennale (Santa Fe, USA)
2007 – Beautiful New World: Contemporary Visual Culture from Japan (Beijing, China)
2006 – 12th Bangladesh Biennale (Dhaka, Bangladesh)
2003 – Echigo-Tsumari Art Field (Niigata, Japan)
2000 – 2000 Busan International Contemporary Art Festival (Busan, South Korea)
1990s – Chiang Mai Social Installation (Chiang Mai, Thailand)
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