Installation Art

With the spread of social media, other people’s lifestyles and approaches to child-rearing have become increasingly visible, and information about education is now far more accessible than before. As many people seriously consider their children’s futures and strive to make what they believe are better choices, a normative idea of “how children should be raised” is being collectively and conformistically formed. In this process, easily understandable success models—such as “sending a child to an international school will ensure English proficiency” or “enrolling in a prestigious cram school will improve academic performance”—have gained traction. Alongside them, products and services that are built upon parents’ anxieties about their children have come to occupy a strong presence.

 

For example, advertisements on trains and within media spaces are filled with phrases such as “early English education” and “track records of admission to elite universities,” constantly evoking the feeling that “what we are doing now may not be enough.” Moreover, discussions surrounding education on platforms such as YouTube or in books are, in many cases, framed from the perspectives of parents or educators. But to what extent are the voices of children—the very subjects of education—actually being respected?

 

What the education industry offers is not so much children’s futures themselves, but rather reassuring narratives of success that promise,

“If you do this, your child’s future will be secure.” In most cases, it is the parents who are positioned as the ones making these choices.

 

The phrase “It’s all for you” raises the question: for whom is this really meant?

 

This work also makes use of AI. In the United States, which occupies the top tiers of global university rankings, it has been increasingly noted that even highly educated young people are finding it difficult to secure stable employment. Behind this situation lie multiple factors, including economic fluctuations, as well as the rapid spread of AI technologies, through which certain forms of intellectual and creative labor—previously regarded as requiring a high level of expertise—are being partially replaced or reduced.

As a result, the assumption that education guarantees future stability has already begun to weaken in some countries. Although Japan is currently facing labor shortages due to a declining birthrate, it cannot be ruled out that similar structural changes may occur in the future.

Within this work, AI is positioned not as a “convenient tool,” but as an entity that quietly erodes from within the narrative of a stable future long promised by investment in education.