TOKYO — An art exhibition featuring renowned Japanese film directors’ works, with a field of 40,000 sunflowers and Tokyo Bay as its backdrop, has opened at a seaside park in the Japanese capital.
The event, titled “Harmony with Nature,” commenced at Kasai Rinkai Park in Tokyo’s Edogawa Ward and will run until Aug. 18. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which is hosting the exhibition, aims to make use of the vast site and allow visitors to enjoy art in nature.
Photographer and filmmaker Mika Ninagawa and her team set up the “Garden of Sky,” which consists of crystals in various colors and shapes hanging from the ceiling of the Crystal View observation rest house overlooking the bay. At a media preview, Ninagawa said, “I wanted to create art that would blend into the sky. You can sense nature through the crystals even though you’re indoors. I would like visitors to watch their appearance transform depending on the time of day or weather.”
Filmmaker Naomi Kawase dotted the sunflower field with eight boards bearing different messages, such as “Love is the loss of the individual.” The sequence in which they are to be read is not fixed. It intends to stimulate the visitors’ imaginations and have them feel as if they were watching a short film. Each message includes an English translation.
Media artist Yoichi Ochiai used a 10-meter-wide screen to display artificial intelligence-generated images of sunflowers. Artist Yuichi Hirako, who works both in Japan and abroad, presented unique wooden sculptures to encourage visitors to consider what nature is.
The glass dome building of the Tokyo Sea Life Park aquarium, on the premises of the Kasai Rinkai Park, is enveloped in mist, creating an atmosphere that connects it to the sea. The aquarium will stay open three hours later than usual and close at 8 p.m. from Aug. 11 to 14. A special event will be held in which the lights of the aquarium tanks will be turned off, allowing guests to spend the night in darkness with fish. During this period, the mist will be lit up at night to create a magical atmosphere.
Admission to Kasai Rinkai Park is free, but the aquarium requires a fee. For inquiries, contact the event’s secretariat by email (info@2024art-kasai.com).
(By Yuko Murase, The Mainichi Staff Writer)
