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Sense the Invisible

h.o (hdoto) is an artist collective based in Europe, Japan, and the United States. Their journey began after winning the grand prize at the Philip Morris Art Award for Memory of Media (2000), a project created in a university laboratory. Each member of the collective specializes in fields such as sensor technology, database systems, interaction design, hardware design, and robotics, forming a unique collaborative structure where team members change depending on the project. h.o’s artistic focus has evolved alongside encounters with new members and collaborators. In the early phase of their work, the collective explored invisible, universal themes such as time and communication. They created poetic and playful interactive installations, including Perfect Time (2004) and BLUE (2009), while focusing on communication objects through the Internet, such as SmallConnection (2000–2004). In the early 2000s, they sought to explore “media art in daily life.” With the addition of new members specializing in database and sensor systems, h.o began to develop a vision for the future of the “digital society and commons,” as reflected in projects like COLORS (2005) and A New Cultural Advertising Project (2008).

Since 2007, core members Hideaki Ogawa and Emiko Ogawa have expanded their activities from Linz, where they were artists-in-residence at Ars Electronica. Today, they work and exhibit globally, with bases in Europe, Japan, and the United States. Drawing on this international experience, h.o has realized various cultural explorations of “media art in society,” as seen in projects like Klangwolke ABC (2012) and TRIART (2012). Their 2018 solo exhibition Ghosts in the Digital Realm introduced provocative projects such as *(Asterisk) (2018), Ghosthouse (2018), and Imaginative (2018), aimed at fostering dialogue on “the future of humanity in the context of AI and robotics”. What A Ghost Dreams Of (2019) emerged as one of the key works of this period. In their 2025 solo exhibition Cosmos – The Art of Chaos, h.o explores the “small cosmos” through bio art with Selfish Bacteria (2025) and the “everyday cosmos” with Perfect World (2025), where bubbles on the surface of water create countless stars through light phenomena. Furthermore, in E=T (Energy Equals Time), they turn their attention to the “greater cosmos” by presenting a new artistic equation that bridges art and science.

Through this continuous exploration, h.o searches for witty and innovative ideas for the future, aligning their artistic expressions with the rapid pace of technological advancement.

Solo Exhibition

  • h.o solo exhibition 2025: COSMOS - The Art of Chaos, Kiyoharu Art Colony, Hokuto, Yamanashi / Japan, 2025
  • h.o solo exhibition 2018: GHOSTS IN THE DIGITAL REALM, Axiom, Tokyo / Japan,　Jun. 2 – Jun. 30, 2018
  • h.o solo exhibition 2010: SENSE THE INVISIBLE, Ars Electroica Center, Linz / Austria,　Jul. 30 – Sep. 12, 2010
  • h.o solo exhibition 2004, LA GALERIE DES NAKAMURA, Tokyo / Japan, Mar. 9 – Apr. 2, 2004

    • Award

  • 2007 Future Marketing Awards Internet Innovation winner (NIIZA KOYOMI PROJECT)
  • 2007 Good Design Award (Being Zoo Project)
  • 2006 London International Awards (NIIZA KOYOMI PROJECT)
  • 2006 Prix Ars Electronica Honorary Mentions Net Vision (COLORS PROJECT)
  • 2004 Japan Media Arts Festival (Perfect Time)
  • 2001 Asia Digital Art Award (Twin Lamp)
  • 2000 Philip Morris Art Award 2000 Grand Prize [MMM Project] (Memory of Media)

    • Artistic Collective

    h.o (hdoto) is an international artist collective based in Europe, Japan, and the United States. Guided by the mission “Sense the Invisible,” the group aims to create experimental and artistic expressions that evolve with the pace of technological progress.

    Hideaki Ogawa

    Emiko Ogawa

    Junichi Yura

    John Brumley

    Hiroshi Chigira

    Taizo Zushi

    Naohiro Hayaishi

    Yoko Minagawa

    Yuichi Tamagawa

    Sakura Toyabe

    Other Members:
    Satoshi Onodera, Shota Ishimura, Tomonori Kondo, Yukiko OKamura, Kaori Honda, Mizuya Sato, Yuichiro Haraguchi, Ayano Urabe

    (project participation order)

    EXHIBITION

    2025
    2024
    2023
    2022
    2021
    2020
    2019
    2018
    2017
    2016
    2015
    2014
    2013
    2012
    2011
    2010
    2009
    2008
    2007
    2006
    2005
    2004
    2003
    • Surroundings, Tokyo Hillside West Gallery, Tokyo / Japan, Dec. 16 – 22 (moi)
    • Take Art Collection 2003, SPIRAL, Tokyo / Japan, Oct. 24 – Nov. 9 (nest)
    • Asia Design International Conference, Tsukuba / Japan, Oct. 14 – 17 (Infoscape in the city)
    • art-life+, SPIRAL, Tokyo / Japan, Sep. 6 – 15 (strobe switch)
    • My Sweet Home Exhibition, SPIRAL, Tokyo / Japan, Mar. 27 – Apr. 14 (one, living memory)
    2002
    • ISEA 2002(International Symposium on Electronic Art), Nagoya / Japan, Oct 27 – Oct 31 PAPER (@home project)
    • INFOSCAPE in the city, Yokohama / Japan, Oct. 7 – 14 (INFOSCAPE in the city)
    • INFOSCAPE on the beach, SPUTNIK Beach House, Tsujido / Japan, Aug. 24 (INFOSCAPE on the beach)
    • Universal Plaything, Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus, Fujisawa / Japan, Jul. 1 – 8 (star drops)
    • Art in Shopping Town in Yokohama, Yokohama / Japan, May 25 – Jun. 2 (INFOSCAPE in the city)
    • Art Cross Plan Exhibition, Ginza Pepper’s Gallery, Tokyo / Japan, Mar 11 – 16 (INFOSCAPE in the city)
    2001