‘Zipper’ Ship Seemingly Unfastens Tokyo River As If It’s A Giant Jacket
Footage by Akio Watanabe for Sumida River Sumi-Yume Art Project
A zipper-shaped ship could be seen loosening the fabric of Tokyo’s Sumida River from 31 October to 8 November as part of a public installation called Opening the River for Designart Tokyo 2020.
The display by Japanese artist Yasuhiro Suzuki saw a nine-meter (20-foot) chrome ‘Zip-Fastener Ship’ breaking through the currents of the river in the way you’d pull down a zipper to unfasten a jacket.
Suzuki said he was inspired to design the unique vessel after staring down at Tokyo Bay from an airplane window and noticing how the ships below seemed to split the water in half.
Describing the giant optical illusion, the Sumida River Sumi-Yume Art Project explained, “You can see the swaying water that changes its shape from the waves… [and the ship’s] reflection of the sky.”
“As the ‘Fastener Ship’ sails, we will bring out and convey the various expressions of water that lurks around us,” it added.
[via Laughing Squid, video and cover image via Sumida River Sumi-Yume Art Project]
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