About the Work This work took on the challenge of reimagining “enjoying coolness in the height of midsummer heat” as a contemporary art experience, as an homage to traditional methods nurtured by Japanese sensibilities. In the past, Japanese people made use of the full range of their five senses to enjoy summers without air conditioning. Elements such as the setting sun, Japanese gardens, engawa (verandas), sprinkling water to cool the ground, and the refreshing breeze are all part of the original landscape of summer in Japan. By connecting these elements to the context of TOKYO MIDTOWN—“we want to be the most pleasant place in the center of Tokyo”—and adding dynamism and entertainment value, this work was created. People immersed themselves in a space where “nostalgia” and “freshness” merged in the middle of the city, and delighted in a uniquely Japanese sensory experience of “coolness” that soaked into their entire being, not just through the actual temperature. This work was created by Hakuten, WOW, and TOKYO LIGHTING DESIGN, a creative company specializing in experiential work in physical spaces. WOW was responsible for creative direction and production. About the Exhibition It was presented as part of “MIDTOWN LOVES SUMMER 2018,” held at Tokyo Midtown from Friday, July 13 to Sunday, August 26, 2018. For this exhibition, under the theme of “coolness in a Japanese summer,” a new way to enjoy summer was sought in Roppongi, a district in the center of Tokyo, bustling with a diverse crowd and constantly filled with activity. Our approach drew from the rich sensitivity inherent to Japanese people, who have long embraced even the heat of summer as part of its charm. Sitting on an engawa*1 facing a garden, listening to the sound of insects, admiring fireworks, and enjoying summer nights with close companions. This was an attempt to reconstruct, in a contemporary form, the nostalgic summer landscape of Japan, rich in sensibility, and to create a new summer scene. The space was composed of a vast 2,000㎡ lawn plaza in the heart of the city, a massive 20m × 40m engawa that served both as a stage and a frame, mist that changed moment by moment to create a one-of-a-kind atmosphere, and images of “digital fireworks” that controlled approximately 6,000 LED lights to color the space. Visitors stood on the engawa and enjoyed images of Japanese summer spread out at their feet, experiencing coolness firsthand. The ever-changing, primitive forms of mist—never repeating the same expression twice—and the digitally rendered glow of fireworks created a space one could watch without growing tired of it. Blending with summer nights, this work became an experience that cooled both body and spirit of those who came, together with the heat. *1: An engawa is a distinctive architectural feature of traditional Japanese houses—a threshold-like space between indoors and outdoors—where one can sit and enjoy the scenery outside or chat with family, symbolizing a rich and comfortable way of life.

A surreal music video.

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