Tatsuo Miyajima 'Time Waterfall' to be Unveiled at Art Basel Hong Kong
image via: Tatsuo Miyajima
Internationally acclaimed Japanese artist Tatsuo Miyajima will present a new large-scale public light installation during Art Basel’s show in Hong Kong this March. Each night from March 21 to 26, Time Waterfall will be shown across the entire façade of Hong Kong’s iconic 490 meter high International Commerce Centre (ICC) on the Kowloon harbor front.
Time Waterfall is a new work by the artist which aims to convey the eternal luminance of human life, expressing an ethos of “living in the present.” The work will comprise the natural numbers one to nine, which will cascade down the face of the ICC, while never reaching zero. The continuous countdown symbolizes life, while the zero implied by the extinction of light acts as a metaphor for death. Each digit will be of different sizes, cascading at its own speed and creating a number of layers that each represents a trajectory of individual lives.
This work continues the artist’s signature use of light-emitting diode (LED) counters to demonstrate his three fundamental concepts—Keep Changing, Connect with Everything, and Continue Forever. The absence of zero in his works refers to the Buddhist concept of “Sunya,” which symbolizes the void or non-existence. The use of numbers, as abstract and conceptual symbols, becomes Miyajima’s universal language, allowing his work to be appreciated and adapted internationally.
The work will be visible from numerous locations across Hong Kong, including the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Recommended locations for public viewing are Tamar Park, Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park and the terrace on Podium 3 and 4 of the IFC Mall.
Time Waterfall is co-commissioned by Art Basel and the International Commerce Centre in Hong Kong.
Time Waterfall schedule
March 21–26, 2016, intermittently between 7:20 and 10pm
The Hong Kong show of Art Basel, whose Lead Partner is UBS, will open to the public from Thursday, March 24 to Saturday, March 26, 2016, and will take place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC).