Japanese artwork unveiled at The Wave during year as UK City of Culture
Today, 8 June, a Japanese paper installation was unveiled at The Wave.
The artwork has been created by Japanese artist, Hiroko Imada, and was produced especially for a Japanese Festival for Coventry Schools that celebrates the Tokyo Olympics.
The paper installation – ‘Making Waves’ – is part of an interactive project of three stages. The installation of Making Waves will be the first step followed by a further two that incorporate the help of Coventry school children with woodblock printing and an installation of a final piece of interactive art in July at Coventry Cathedral. The final piece will be a giant wave that incorporates the children’s art too, signifying hope, future and a celebration of life itself.
The Making Waves artwork now sits inside The Wave’s reception, on display for all visitors to the attraction to see.
Hiroko Imada was approached by Howes Primary School to create the project and art pieces that will be in both The Wave and Coventry’s Cathedral.
The artwork is inspired by the spirals of the waterslides inside The Wave, so Imada travelled to Japan in summer 2019 to research the Naruto whirlpools and the motion of water in order to enhance her art piece.
Hiroko Imada, artist and creator of Making Waves, said: “I am so happy to see my artwork displayed inside The Wave. During the lockdown, we all had the feeling that we had been trapped and everything was out of our control. Those feelings are reflected in the movement of a giant whirlpool. But now we are starting to see that there is a way out of this situation we have endured for so many months.
“This project continues with the interactive installation at Coventry Cathedral where ‘waves’ are represented with woodblock printing as a symbol of the way out of the pandemic and our hopes for the future. I look forward to working on this project with the school children.”
Hiroko was also commissioned by the Hollywood film ‘Fast and Furious 9’ to create a painting that appears in a key scene within the scientist’s house.
Laura Williams, Centre Manager at The Wave, added: “It’s an honour to have the piece of art by Hiroko Imada placed inside The Wave. We love that the artwork was inspired by the shapes of our rides and features in the waterpark amongst many other things.
“It’s especially fantastic to have the artwork at The Wave during Coventry’s year as UK City of Culture. It will be a focal piece in our facility and will be showcased for the years to come.” Take a look at The Wave’s Twitter and Facebook to view photos of the paper installation. To see more of Hiroko Imada’s work, head to her Instagram page.
Original block for printing
