Climbing into what can only be described as huge white styrofoam cave carefully carved to resemble a sort of icy glacier in Antarctica, built in the small Tokyo Wonder Site gallery smack in the middle of Shibuya, I felt oddly removed from the bustling reality just meters away on the other side of the gallery doors. Nishiyama’s small but to-the-point sculptures of waves, made of blue resin, nicely accentuate the ‘cool’ ambience of the installation.
Frankly, “White Out” gave me the same sensation that a bouncy castle in the middle of Shibuya might have – a nice diversion, great squishy feeling under your feet (you enter wearing slippers), the thought of wanting to stay there forever yet knowing that your time is soon up … And once over, the feeling of somehow being let down after great anticipation prior to stepping in. I probably would have enjoyed his wave sculptures more had they been displayed in a normal museum setting. Which leaves me asking: why the need for the gigantic styrofoam?
Since this is a free event, I recommend going to the “Move on Asia” video installation across the hall as well (500 yen) while you’re there.
Lena Oishi
Lena Oishi