emmanuelle moureaux retraces the past 20 years in spellbinding overlap of colorful numbers

the rainbow-inspired installation was commissioned to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the opening of roppongi hills.

lea zeitoun May 16, 2023 3 min

100 colors no.43 ‘memory’ by emmanuelle moureaux

French artist Emmanuelle Moureaux continues her fascinating exploration of the chromatic spectrum with 100 Colors no.43 ‘Memory’ — a rainbow-inspired installation commissioned to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the opening of Roppongi Hills, a famous building complex located in the heart of Tokyo’s Roppongi district. At the foot of the Mori Tower, where people are busy coming and going, Moureaux’s layered artwork creates ‘an installation that traces memories,’ she writes. As part of Roppongi Art Night 2023, the installation lights up at night, creating a whole new atmosphere.

emmanuelle moureaux retraces the past 20 years in spellbinding overlap of colorful numbers - 1 — all images © Daisuke Shima

Composed of small numbers that spell out years, overlapping in 100 colors layers — the deeper the layer, the older the year — Emmanuelle Moureaux’s artwork reflects an abstract representation of layers that make up our ‘memory’. Precisely, the artist engraved 201,552 numbers in 100 shades of colors, written on 51 large transparent acrylic panels, regularly aligned to a depth of 12,5 meters. These small numbers depict the last 20 years since the opening of Roppongi Hills in 2003. The front layer, evoking the present (2023), stands out in its white tone, while the other 50 layers in 100 colors gradations express the flow of past time.

emmanuelle moureaux retraces the past 20 years in spellbinding overlap of colorful numbers - 2 — 100 colors no.43 ‘Memory’ on view at the Roppongi District in Tokyo

‘Perfectly aligned in three-dimensional grids, numbers are written so that they overlap exactly on both sides of each layer, creating staggering overlapping effects. It is a flow of floating numbers and colors that builds a complex depth and density, creating three-dimensional layers of colorful memory. Depending on the angle of view, the overlap between the numbers and the colors reflected in the eye changes, creating the sensation of entering into various layers of memory,’ shares the artist.

emmanuelle moureaux retraces the past 20 years in spellbinding overlap of colorful numbers - 3 — using 51 acrylic panels to create a spellbinding overlap of colors

100 colors no.43 ‘memory’ is part of Emmanuelle Moureaux’s ‘100 colors’ installation series, which launched in 2013 as an ode to the overflowing ‘colors’ she witnessed in Tokyo during her 1995 trip. This emotional memory ultimately translated to a series of installations that offer people the opportunity to see, touch, and feel colors with their senses and become more conscious of their daily presence around them. In ‘100 colors’, the chromatic spectrum is explored in various forms depending on the environment to maximize the experience of those 100 hues being absorbed, mentally and emotionally, by passersby. The installation series will continue to travel around the world.