Eurasian Garden

When the Dutch ship, the “Liefde” was cast ashore in Usuki in 1600, it was the beginning of the subsequent history of the relationship between Japan and the Netherlands. This history has led to the present day, with the contest between the Dutch designer Marcel Wanders and the Japanese textile designer, Sudo Reiko. Wanders’s “death and flowers,” which symbolizes Eurasia’s Circle of Transmigration, is contrasted with Sudo’s “we are all beings of the water,” alive and located beneath the white lotuses.

Oita Sightseeing Wall
“Mai Miyake’s World Cuckoo-Clock － WORLD could be a safer place CLOCK”

“Sightseeing,” (kanko), means “to look at the light (ko) and encounter the life of the region.” The young talented Mai Miyake’s work warns us that the world is increasingly embroiled in conflict and is a plea for peace. Additionally, she exhibits three more pieces; Oita’s picture scroll which changes views by showing or hiding surfaces moment by moment, two interactive pools on the theme of water, and a work displaying a huge traditional lantern to represent a divine spirit. It is a large installation piece that takes Oita’s culture and climate as its theme.

AMANIWA – Three Contemporary Crafts Artists
“Kyoko Tokumaru (Ceramics), Mariko Isozaki (Ceramics), Yoshihiko Takahashi (Glass)”

AMANIWA is a translucent central garden in OPAM that opens itself up to the sky. Adorning it is a flower garden installation created by three key figures in contemporary sculptural craft. It is a space where one’s heart is released to the heavens as one is surrounded by light and air.