EXHIBITION-RELATED PROGRAMS

Ron Mueck Talk Session: What Is “Realism” That Seems Alive?

Ron Mueck Related Program
Conducted in Japanese

Ron Mueck’s works evoke strong empathy and an emotional connection in viewers by delicately expressing the inner workings of the human mind. In this era where deepfakes and lifelike androids are becoming commonplace, what questions do Mueck’s sculptures, so exquisitely crafted they seem as if they could start moving at any moment, pose to the viewers? This panel discussion will explore the question of “realism that seems alive” from multiple perspectives, starting from the boundary between humans and robots or dolls.

We are featuring Hayashi Kaname, who is involved in the development of a household robot “LOVOT,” and artist Kan Mika as speakers. Through Hayashi’s attempts to build emotional relationships between robots and humans, and Kan’s perspective which continues to question the boundary between humans and non-humans through photographs and video works, we will explore the nature of our empathy.

Appearing

Hayashi Kaname (Representative Director, GROOVE X Co., Ltd.)
Kan Mika (Artist)

Date & Time

19:00-20:30, Friday, July 24, 2026 (Doors Open: 18:45)

Hayashi Kaname

Born 1973 in Aichi Prefecture, he joined Toyota Motor Corporation in 1998, where he was involved in the aerodynamic development of the supercar “LFA” and F1 cars, later taking charge of mass production vehicle development management. He then joined SoftBank in 2012 and participated in the “Pepper project.” In 2015, he founded GROOVE X Co., Ltd., and in December 2018, announced a household robot “LOVOT,” with shipments starting the following year. Hayashi received the INNOVATION AWARD at CES 2020, as well as numerous other awards including the BEST OF CES award for “Refinery29” and the Good Design Gold Award. He has written books including Warm Technology: Stories of the Future, released in May 2023.

Kan Mika

Kan Mika earned her Ph.D. in Intermedia Art at Tokyo University of the Arts in 2021. She first gained attention in 2016 with The Future Mother, a work for which she cut open and inflated a love doll’s abdomen to mimic pregnancy, then photographed it in the style of maternity photography. Working with dolls, photography, video, and optical devices, she explores the boundary between the human and the non-human. Recent solo exhibitions include I Won’t Let You Go at 1839 Contemporary Art Gallery, Taipei (2024). She is the recipient of the 2020 VOCA Encouragement Prize.

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