Water as an important life source

This installation is based on the water cycle, the perpetual exchange of water between the atmosphere, soil water, surface water, ground water and plants.  When the water from a river evaporates, it become vapor and turn into clouds. Eventually, it turns into rain.

In festivals such as Thailand’s Loi Kratong, it takes place on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional thai calender. “Loi” means “to float” and a“krathong” is traditionally made from a section of banana tree trunk. Wishes are made by placing offerings on banana leaves and placed on water, letting them float away with the current of a river or a canal.

The water carries all their wishes hoping to be heard and received. An installation is created with raindrops as a metaphor to signify wishes made by people.

Concept

As the recent 2011 Japan tsunami claimed many lives and left numerous homeless, it has touched and inspired me to create this installation to commemorate what Prime Minister Naoto Kan has called Japan’s “worst crisis since World War II.”

This installation invites people to listen and be listened to, a memorial event reuniting everyone to mark the first anniversary of the 2011 Japan tsunami.

The use of the idea of Water and its cycle is significant throughout this installation.  Well-wishes sent by people evaporate and fall as raindrops.  User can view and listen to the different wishes made, by interacting with each raindrop. In addition, the raindrops not only signify a wish made, but also teardrops shed by the tsunami victims.

Target Audience
Primary: Friends and family of the tsunami victims
Secondary: Everyone

Location:
3331 ARTS CYD
Tokyo City

The Installation
Users can send their regards and well wishes through the use of an application in their Smartphone. The wishes will be displayed as particle lights projected on the wall that signifies vapors during evaporation before turning into raindrops. Users can also interact with the raindrop to listen and collect the wishes made.

Poster
My poster is designed in a way that light is projected on a wall to show the information and details of the event. Audience can use their smartphone to scan the QR code on the poster to download an application to know more about the event, and also to upload their wishes for the Tsunami victims.

Invites
The metaphor used in the installation and poster is also reflected in the invites. It is designed in relation to the interactivity of the installation, as users need to pull out the postcard, to uncover what’s beneath it, which is the detail of the event.

Smartphone application
An application of dual language is being created (English and Japanese). The user could download the application to upload their wishes by scanning the QR code with their Smartphone (QR code can be found on the poster and invites). User can toggle between two interfaces to read the wishes, one will be the listed view, and another will be a self-organizing particle system to show the data, whereby each particle represent a wish made.