Toshihiko Shibuya, an artist based on Sapporo, Hokkaido, installed new artwork “Water Palle” on “Way to the Garden” by Dani Karavan, at Sapporo Artpark outdoor Space and Sapporo Artpark Sculpture Garden. He is one of the few artists who shows new art expressions through a theme on this region with heavy snowfalls. This installation is one of works for “Sprouting Garden” exhibition.

Photo: Courtesy of the Artist © Toshihiko Shibuya

A number of “7” is the concept of Karavan’s work, which has seven objects. “The waterway” is 70 meters in total length. The height of “the gate” is 7 meters. “7” resulted from Judaism. The Bible says “God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day,” and there is a habit to rest the cultivated land in Israel every seven years. Such as the number of days in a week and colors of the rainbow, human has been living and involved deeply with “7” for a ling time. Karavan says “as number was born out of various experiences of human, it relates to the place leads to the rhythm of life, the environment and the universe.”

Photo: Courtesy of the Artist © Toshihiko Shibuya

This time, Shibuya quotes the number “7” in his installation because of respect for Karavan and his works. Shibuya puts 7 objects of 7cm diameter floating type (small), 7 of 7cm radius floating type (middle), 7 of 70cm diameter on water type and 7 of buried type there.

Photo: Courtesy of the Artist © Toshihiko Shibuya

In addition, he changed the shapes, size of the objects and also quaint from the series “Snow Pallet” and “Ice Pallet,” which have been announced among the local environment of snow and ice, to new style makes use of see-through property of water substance and immerse the works themselves in the water as well as on the water.

Photo: Courtesy of the Artist © Toshihiko Shibuya

Among the colors of nature that come and go every day, those objects that move to the left and the right in response to the water caused by the wind to the swaying, make us forget to even passage of time. Against the background of the work of Karavan, at rainy day the shape of the object and the surface of the water ripples overlap, it is fun how going to change the look.

Toshihiko Shibuya’s new installation “Water Pallet”
“Sprouting Garden” exhibition
Date: July 5th – November 3rd
Opening hours: 9:00 – 17:30 (till 17:00 from September)
Featured artists: Chinatsu Aida, Ten-ei Abe, Sachiko Ito, Daisaku Ueno, Hiroshi Kakizaki, Kasumi, RIe Kawakami, Ayumi Sato, Toshihiko Shibuya, Toshiya Shimozawa, Yuuki Sekiguchi, Dam Dang Lai, Leo Fujisawa, Fumihiko Hishino, Akio Morisako, Ryo Yamada, Asuka Kunimatsu and Shoko Yomogisawa
Place: Sapporo Artpark Sculpture Garden, Sapporo Artpark outdoor Space and Yuuki Sekiguchi Memorial Museum
Entrance: 900yen/15 and over, free/14 and under
Address: 2-75 Geijyutsu-no-mori, Minami-ku, Sapporo
Tel: +81(0)11 591 0090
http://artpark.or.jp