The Container is presenting in AFT2013 three separate bodies of work by Tokyo-based Jack McLean, Israeli-born Gil Yefman and the young Japanese collective Shibuhouse.

Utilising sculpture, drawing, photography, conceptual work and performance art, The Container's display at AFT seeks to arouse awareness and a public discourse about a variety of social structures and issues that are close to the artists' daily lives. Their approaches are visually and conceptually completely different--such as the concerns and the interests that they inquire about--but their treatment is distinctively similar: emphasizing mainstream culture, accessible tools and imagery, with a good doze of humor, fantasy and awkwardness.

The artists also share an interest in socio-political change and a critical understanding of the way society is structured: from the gender and sexual-identity motivated colourful knitted sculptures of Yefman; to the huge and bizarre black and white drawings of McLean that remind so much of Pieter Bruegel; and to the installation / photograph of Shibuhouse that persistently try to challenge the conservative and highly formulated structure of Japanese society – almost desperately seeking acceptance and acknowledgement.

During the private view The Container is also planning to hold performative acts that are both characteristic of the artists we are presenting and the spirit of the gallery. Shibuhouse, who are notorious in Tokyo for their monthly parties at their central Tokyo Shibuya residence, will DJ and serve visitors their “signature party staple,” Japanese curry, while Jack McLean will perform his subversive character “the sad clown” with his Accumulated Sound of Idiocy (ASI) team.