Tadashi Kawamata’s ‘Under the Water’ Imagines The Debris From Japan’s Tsunami

Posted By Bridgette Meinhold On January 30, 2012 @ 4:00 pm In Art,carousel showcase,Recycled Materials | No Comments

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Try to imagine the 20 million tons of debris and waste ^[6] jettisoned into the Pacific as a result of the tsunami in Japan ^[7] last year. It's near impossible to fathom, but artist Tadashi Kawamata ^[8] did his best to envision the flotsam and jetsam as it makes its way towards hawaii. His latest installation, Under The Water at the Kamel Mennour Gallery ^[9] in Paris, attempts to show visitors what it would be like to be submerged below this layer of wreckage.

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As the 20 million tons of wreckage slowly make their way to Hawaii from Japan, Tadashi Kawamata created Under the Water to envision what it must be like to be beneath all the debris. His site-specific installation makes use of old doors and reclaimed wood bits and parts. As you enter the Kamel Mennour ^[9] gallery through the courtyard, you enter underneath a canopy of old wood doors and furniture floating about 12 feet about your head. The sunlight filters through the gaps and the cracks between the debris, but largely the feeling is of being trapped.

The installation spills through the doors and into the gallery rooms where it knocks against the ceiling. Lights from the ceiling break through the cracks, but the wreckage permeates the space, leaving no breaks. The installation is a reminder of the devastation of the natural disaster and its effects in Japan, as well as its effects on the rest of the world. Kawamata’s installation will be on display until the end of January in Paris.

+ Kamel Mennour Gallery ^[9]

Via Architizer ^[10]

Images via the video by Kammel Mennour

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URL to article: http://inhabitat.com/tadashi-kawamatas-under-the-water-imagines-the-debris-from-japans-tsunami/

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[6] 20 million tons of debris and waste: http://inhabitat.com/20-million-tonnes-of-japanese-debris-spotted-en-route-to-hawaii/

[7] tsunami in Japan: http://inhabitat.com/tag/japan-tsunami/

[8] Tadashi Kawamata: http://inhabitat.com/madison-square-tree-huts-tadashi-kawamata/

[9] Kamel Mennour Gallery: http://www.kamelmennour.com/media/5224/tadashi-kawamata-under-the-water.html

[10] Architizer: http://www.architizer.com/en_us/blog/dyn/38026/the-world-beneath-the-wreckage-of-japans-tsunami/

[11] http://www.vimeo.com/34851055: http://www.vimeo.com/34851055

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