Drifting. Michihiko Yanai never stays long in one place.

Creative director. Art director. Commercial ad planner. Commercial director. Producer. Traversing freely across the professional boundaries of ad creation, Yanai is a creative genius who has given the world a succession of talked-about ad campaigns: Tower Records’ “NO MUSIC, NO LIFE,” Fujifilm’s “PHOTO IS” and Shiseido’s “uno,” to name a few.

But Yanai doesn’t confine himself to ad creation. He also edits and publishes the free monthly paper “KAZETOROCK”; operates a shop and gallery in the backstreets of Harajuku; organizes music events; appears regularly on radio; makes music with professional musicians; and writes numerous serialized essays. Yanai continuously drifts in directions opposite to stagnation and stability. If advertising is creation keen to the flow of the times, Yanai doesn’t just stand on the shore and watch that flow go by. He gets right into the current, lets himself go with the flow, and will likely continue to do so. He is forever heading toward new possibilities in communication, wherever the wind takes him.

Yanai sees “advertising” as everything that conveys something to someone. Breaking down the preconceptions of advertising, he constantly probes communication in real time, always seeking to breathe fresh air into the world of advertising. In this, his first solo exhibition, visitors will be introduced to creative director Michihiko Yanai’s activities, his ideas and his background, discovering what makes his work so appealing. Visitors will also enjoy the spatial design worked up by artist Yasuhiro Suzuki.