100 colors no.1 - Shinjuku Mitsui Building

As part of Shinjuku Creators Festa 2013, run by Shinjuku City council, Emmanuelle has created an emotional and vibrant space using full spectrum of colors, in the high-rise office building in Shinjuku. This is the launch exhibition of the '100 colors' series, which she plans to exhibit in different cities around the world. When I first arrived in Tokyo, I was fully fascinated by the colors overflowing on the street. In that very moment, my mind decided to move to Japan. Overwhelming number of store signs, flying electrical cables, and flashes of blue sky framed by various volumes of buildings, created three dimensional layers in the city. The flood of various colors pervaded the street built up a complex depth and intensity in the space. These indelible experiences of colors and layers in Tokyo were the inspiration and essence of my design concept of shikiri , which means dividing (creating) space with colors. Valuing the emotion inspired from Tokyo, in the 10th anniversary year of my studio, I want to show the beauty of colors to the fullest extent. I also wish to share the feeling of being surrounded by overflowing colors by exhibiting 100 colors, here in the middle of Tokyo. Please come and find your favorite color. Emmanuelle has spent months selecting 100 colors from the collection of Japanese paper manufacturer Takeo, whose product line is available approximately in 8000 types and textures, in a wide range of hues. In the exhibition, 840 papers are suspended from the ceiling creating a volume of floating colors. The installation lets visitors to engage with it from various angles. Bean bags are placed to encourage visitors to immerse themselves in colors by sitting underneath the suspended papers. They are asked, Which is your favorite color today? , and place a small round sticker around the 100 round circles placed on the rear wall, transforming the wall into a separate work of art, that acts as a trend indicator of what people in Tokyo prefer. This vibrant installation has given colors to the ordinary days, sharing the emotion Emmanuelle has felt from the cityscape of Tokyo.