emmanuelle moureaux suspends 100 shades of washi tape over japanese shopping street

100 colors no.42 engulfs japan’s dogo shopping street

Emmanuelle Moureaux‘s 100 colors no.42 is on view along the 150-meter-long shopping street at DOGO ONSEN, the oldest hot spring in Japan. Revealed as part of DOGO ART 2023 festival, showcasing the works of various artists to energize and add colors to the spring, the symbolic installation includes the Tokoy-based French artist’s signature use of a 100-shade palette, transforming the busy shopping strip into a colorful and dynamic passage. The stretch of space connects to the famous Dogo Onsen Main Building, inviting more people to immerse themselves in the ephemeral rainbow suspending above them. 

emmanuelle moureaux combines 100 shades of washi paper

Approaching the entrance of the Dogo Shopping Street, a floating volume of 100 colors appears behind the famous Dogo signage. Emmanuelle Moureaux (see more here) composed this section as a three-meter cube of masking tape made of traditional Japanese Washi paper, especially created for the artist’s unique 100-shade palette. Spanning only 15 millimeters wide, each washi paper strip is perflectly placed next to the other, forming a mezmerizing ensemble that gently sways in the wind. ‘The essence of 100 colors is condensed at the entrance, like a gateway to a world of 100 colors to come,’ shares Moureaux. 

a dynamic, floating artwork that responds to light & wind

Stepping into the Arcade, the ceiling reveals more floating colored strips — specifically, 20280 thin lines of masking tapes formed by repetitive layers of curtain of colors, creating an immersive experience. Emmanuelle Moureaux used the same masking tape as the one for the floating entrance volume. Each strip is 15 millimeters wide and approximately 2 meters long. The journey begins with a layer of white which gradually shifts, layer by layer, forming a total of 101 layers that keep stretching across the 150-meter-long Dogo shopping street. The colors capture light from the arcade ceiling while picking up on the swaying movement of a gentle breeze. Between light, people, and wind, Emmanuelle Moureaux’s 100 colors no.42 changes expression depending on time, weather, and day.  

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project info:

name: 100 colors no.42

location: Dogo Onsen, Japan 

artist: Emmanuelle Moureaux | @emmanuellemoureaux

photographer: Daisuke Shima | @daisuke_shima_photography

program: DOGO ART 2023 | @dogoonsenart