SPREAD installation at Tokyo Midtown Design Touch
Hosted at Tokyo Midtown every Autumn, "TOKYO MIDTOWN DESIGN TOUCH” is an annual event under the concept of “Enjoying design with all five senses”. Creative unit SPREAD was assigned to create an installation which they entitled “Roppongi Color Canyon”, for the events main content the “Design Forest". Under the concept of “flooded with colors” SPREAD covered the garden area of Tokyo Midtown to create a canyon of vibrant colors using fabrics with an overall length of 1km.
The Canyon was inspired by the movement and flow of people. From their everyday practice, SPREAD often create site-specific works where the concepts derive from the sites history and memory.
Midtown Garden which is also known as the path to 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT was a familiar place for the duo. They decided to review the site upon starting this project, where they again recognized that this place was loved by a diverse range of people including families and couples, a place to walk dogs and an urban oasis for a business person to relax.
Tokyo Midtown is located on the grounds with a history of over 400 years. First it was the land of the Mouri family during the Edo era, and belonged to the Imperial Army in Meiji. It was used as the accommodation facility for the officials of the US Army after WWII, and the office of the self-defense forces after returned to Japan. SPREAD felt this site was not only a place for people to walk by, but a place standing on top of the emotions and memories of many. It is a universal place but also a place with layers of continuous flow.
SPREAD overlapped these images with the strong and ever changing scenes of mother nature, the mountains and sea. An image of a canyon emerged to the duo when thinking of a way to dramatically change the site while maintaining the character and history of the Midtown Garden.
The Midtown Garden will be covered with colorful mesh fabrics, 2.5m wide and over 1.6km long, to form a canyon. The overall design of the installation portrays a flow from the mountaintop to the forest, and onto the green grass. The original garden is visible through the half transparent mesh material when blown by the winds, which blends in with the canyon. To portray the ever flowing traffic of people at the site, and to express the blood veins running through the human body, this installation will be composed with two main colors red and blue, enveloping the viewers with these colors. By converting the colors of the original garden, that was familiar place to the duo, into this “Color Canyon”, SPREAD wishes for the viewers to feel the energy of the original site along with the energy which colors can make you feel.
Tokyo Midtown DESIGN TOUCH “Roppongi Color Canyon” Installation by SPREAD Term : 11:00 − 21:00, Fri. 18 Oct - Mon 4 Nov, 2019 Venue : Tokyo Midtown (Roppongi), Midtown Garden 9 Chome-7-1 Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo https://www.tokyo-midtown.com/en/ Organizer: Tokyo Midtown Photographer: Ooki Jingu Construction: Waki Process inc.
