Menu
The New Contemporary Art Magazine

Emmanuelle Moureaux’s Hanging Forest Made of 20,000 Pieces of Paper

When French designer Emmanuelle Moureaux first arrived in Tokyo, she became fully fascinated by the colors overflowing on the street. She found that the city's overwhelming number of store signs, flying electrical cables, and flashes of blue sky framed by various volumes of buildings created three dimensional "layers". The flood of various colors that pervade the city streets are mirrored in her design installations, which build up a complex depth and intensity of space. These experiences of colors and layers are in the inspiration of Moureaux's latest project, "bunshi" (meaning "ramification"), which means to divide or spread out into branches- a rainbow-colored suspended forest made on 20,000 pieces of paper shaped like twigs in 100 shades of color.

When French designer Emmanuelle Moureaux first arrived in Tokyo, she became fully fascinated by the colors overflowing on the street. She found that the city’s overwhelming number of store signs, flying electrical cables, and flashes of blue sky framed by various volumes of buildings created three dimensional “layers”. The flood of various colors that pervade the city streets are mirrored in her design installations, which build up a complex depth and intensity of space.

These experiences of colors and layers are in the inspiration of Moureaux’s latest project, “bunshi” (meaning “ramification”), which means to divide or spread out into branches- a rainbow-colored suspended forest made on 20,000 pieces of paper shaped like twigs in 100 shades of color. Moureaux’s installation is part of the “WOOD FURNITURE JAPAN AWARD 2016” which has returned to Tokyo at SPIRAL art space after a successful launch in Paris in January. She describes the work as “grand, yet intricate. Chaotic, yet in harmony,” as the installation gives an experience of being in a forest, wondering among the world of colorful branches.

Though appearing randomly placed, each “branch” is in fact perfectly aligned in three dimensional grids creating a tunnel-like path, where wood furniture is placed along the edge of the curved path. The color of atmosphere gradually changes as one walks through the tunnel. “Each module is a metaphoric expression of the phenomenon of ramification, which symbolizes the encounters between designers and artisans as their paths intersect and diverge with valuable experiences, leading them to a new path,” writes Moureaux at her website. “I want my designs to inspire people to feel emotion as I felt when I saw the beautiful colors of Tokyo.”

Meta
Share
Facebook
Reddit
Pinterest
Email
Related Articles
Janaina Mello Landini's work may appear as representations of the circulatory system of the human body or roots from the natural world. But in truth, Landini’s work is created from unbraided rope, meticulously twisted and arranged and emblematic of a number of concepts. Zipper Galeria says that she combines her knowledge of "architecture, physics and mathematics" to creature each work.
If Pip and Pop's colorful work looks good enough to eat, that's because it is — sort of. The artist creates bright, crystalline installations using sugary candy, glitter, and cheap toys and knickknacks. These elements accumulate into mystical, glimmering environments filled with pastel-colored sand dunes, rainbow-hued rocks, and enchanted-looking flora. Based in Australia, Pip and Pop began as a duo comprised of Tanya Schultz and Nicole Andrijevic. In 2011, Andrijevic left to pursue other projects and Schultz has been the brains behind the operation since, often inviting guest artists to collaborate with her. Since we last featured Pip and Pop in 2012 (here), she has created confectionary paradises at various venues in the Netherlands, Japan, Taiwan, and Australia. Take a look at her recent work below.
Italian artist Lorenzo Quinn unveiled a new sculpture at Ca' Sagredo Hotel during this year's Venice Biennale. "Support," an enormous sculptural installation that appears to emerge out of the Grand Canal, appears as enormous, white hands. The work aims to display how humans have the ability and opportunity to “change and re-balance the world around them.” In particular, the hands are commenting on the urgency of climate change.
Boston based artist Janet Echelmen (previously featured here) has created one of her most dramatic works yet, but you won't find it in any gallery. Her latest aerial sculpture hangs half an acre above Boston's Rose Kennedy Fitzgerald Greenway. Titled "As If It Were Already Here", the piece weighs a whopping 2,000 lbs, made of 542,000 knots which Echelmen wove together into a colorful, graceful mesh. Take a look at more photos after the jump!

Subscribe to the Hi-Fructose Mailing List