Yayoi Kusama Creates ‘Obliteration Room’ To Join Several New Pavilions In Tokyo
A photo of the ‘Obliteration Room’ at Tokyo’s New Nation Art Gallery. Image via ID 95175888 © TOrigamiplanemechanic | Dreamstime.com
Despite the threat of the pandemic and various scaling-downs and cancelations that Tokyo 2020 has faced thus far, the city is still pressing on with its art installations in celebration of the National Stadium, designed by Kengo Kuma, and the summer’s events. A series of nine pavilions have sprung up around the stadium, created by celebrated artists and architects.
Pavilion Tokyo 2021 comprises temporary structures envisioned by Kazuyo Sejima, Sou Fujimoto, Junya Ishigami, Yayoi Kusama, Terunobu Fujimori, Akihisa Hirata, Teppei Fujiwara, Makoto Aida, and Daito Manabe + Rhizomatiks.
They have created offerings such as a surface river within the city’s gardens, a floating white cloud, a teahouse, and an “obliteration room” for visitors to cover in stickers, to name a few. The structures are located around a 3km (1.86-mile) radius of the stadium, which creates a “treasure hunt” of sorts for visitors.
There’s also an exhibition being held at the Watari Museum, one of the partners behind the event, alongside the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Arts Council Tokyo. Mini versions of the pavilions are on display, alongside process sketches and behind-the-scenes videos.
In an unassuming office building in Shibuya sits Yayoi Kusama’s installation, The Obliteration Room. It starts off as an all-white space, and visitors are encouraged to “decorate” the space, filling it with color in the form of dotted stickers, a tribute to Kusama’s own acclaimed work.
Kochi Watari, chairman of Production Committee of Pavilion Tokyo 2021 and Watari Museum’s CEO, considered canceling this exhibition in particular due to the high-contact nature of the interaction, DW reports. However, he decided to keep it running as he was determined to showcase the message behind the installation.
“In a way, the COVID-19 crisis is rather similar to this obliteration room, because we are all together tacking a common challenge that will eventually disappear, just like this white room.”
Pavilion Tokyo 2021 will be on display until September 5. A full list of locations and details can be found on Tokyo Art Beat’s website.
[via ArchDaily, images via various sources]
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