ring of mist encircles river-crossing bridge at the the japan alps art festival

the japan alps art festival welcomes australian artist james tapscott’s latest installation, ‘arc zero’ — a ring of mist encircling a bridge that crosses a little river below it. ‘my work explores the link between subjective and objective reality, and the effect our perception has on our understanding of the world around us.’ explains tapscott, ‘by using simple materials, and light I seek to create a balance between a ritualistic artistic process and natural phenomena’. the shape of the work represents the cyclical journey of the water, through all states, down the mountain, and back up again as evaporated mist.

the japan alps art festival is located in the town of omachi in the spectacular japanese alps

james tapscott‘s installation is a steel ring at 6 meters in diameter installed on site with integrated misting nozzles and lighting and clad in laser cut acrylic mirror to help it blend in with the surroundings. additionally, it features two layers of LED strips, tuned at slightly different colour temperatures give the cloud of mist an added textural quality as it billows from the ring. during the day the mist works with the ambient conditions to produce crepuscular rays and rainbows around the viewer, while in the darker hours the mist is illuminated from lighting embedded within the structure. a hut nearby houses the many pumps and filters required to get the river water clean and pressurized for the mist.

an angled view of the ring, as the structure all but disappears within the mist

a close up of the installation showing the crepuscular ray effect within the circle

the crepuscular ray effect happens mid-afternoon as the sun starts to poke through the trees at an angle, just before it goes behind the nearby mountains

towards the evening, the lighting within the structure switches on, illuminating the mist

a blazing circle wraps around the bridge as the forest darkens into the night

the source of the river itself is nearby, up in the mountains where the snow is still melting

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynn chaya | designboom