Sayaka Shimada
Special exhibition
Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School of Fine Arts (Master course) Intermedia Art :
Hachiya Kazuhiko Lab.(Media Art)
Fireworks for another world that never came
Commentary
Japan’s fireworks festivals, which got their start with fireworks announcing the opening of the river at Ryogoku, originally combined the meanings of a festival and a ceremony for the repose of souls, adding color to the night skies of cities since the Edo period.
Shimada has collected and analyzed temporal and geographical data about Japan’s fireworks festivals that were canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and actually launched those fireworks to create another world that might have been.
The fireworks performance, which takes place in 365 seconds, where each second represents a day, was photographed from far above and from the side, and is exhibited in combination with a video simulation of it seen from below.
This is an attempt at taking another look at the pandemic, a cathartic time for modern-day people, and offer a prayer for the repose of souls, and to the future.
Profile
Sayaka Shimada
Enrolled in the Department of Intermedia Art, Tokyo University of the Arts. Fascinated by the energy of fireworks, she researches fireworks from multiple perspectives, including explosives engineering, culture, and history, to create her works. She is also active as a pyrotechnician, and has participated in fireworks festivals both in Japan and overseas, including the Hannover International Fireworks Competition, as a fireworks show designer. Photo : Utsuki Nishi