When we think of the home of the masterminds of two-dimensional art mediums, Japan will likely come up more than a few times. Anime and woodblock prints are just two of the pinnacle examples that stretch across art history’s timeline on opposite ends. Many view Shigetaka Kurita as the creator of the emoji. Images in place of words have existed as long as humans have had a drawing tool in hand, but the true origin of universal symbols, or pictograms, took place only in the last century. 1936 saw the emergence of standardised symbols that would transcend language, but the 1964 Tokyo Olympics was the true birthplace of these pictograms being used and realised in a way that would successfully be understood by all who viewed them.
When hearing the title of Japan House’s latest theme, we were curious as to how the curators would pull this one off, considering the hub’s tendency to use three-dimensional space to the full, incorporating interactive elements that often use senses beyond just sight and hearing. Unsurprisingly, this too was a success, with the familiar exhibition hall housing space that would transform the two-dimensional into three dimensions.
Interaction, as usual, was a part of the biyearly theme. Earlier this year, young visitors were invited to submit their own pictogram designs ahead of the programme to feature in the exhibition section My London Pictogram: where you can truly feel the connection between the cultural hub’s content and its red bus-dotted hometown.
The panels accompanying each exhibit provide total insight into the mastery behind these designs: such as use of negative space and symmetry. You’ll be inspired to look at these images from a new angle, understanding how the things we have likely grown up with were curated specially for us. Japan alone didn’t invent these, but played a crucial role in their ascension to everyday, universal use.
Truly, it is the only language you don’t need to take a course to become fluent in. At Japan House’s Pictograms, one is reaffirmed that there is no language most universally understood as art.
The exhibition runs until 9th of November. You can book tickets here.