Floating World

Floating World transforms the aesthetic universe shaped by the Japanese understanding of impermanence, nature, and inner balance into a multisensory journey that visitors can move through. The idea of the “floating world” in ukiyo-e, expressed through motifs, figures, and spirit narratives, offers not only a visual repertoire but also a discipline of perception: to slow down, to focus, and to sense abundance within simplicity.

This exhibition proposal reconstructs the collective imagination that Japanese art has inspired in Europe while placing the Zen approach at the center of the narrative. Through sound, light, movement, and space, visitors encounter the thought behind the images; the encounter becomes not merely a theme but an experience of a state of mind.

Bonsai Garden is a digital installation that visualizes the ideas of nature, time, and stillness central to Japanese Zen aesthetics through augmented reality. Composed of reflective water surfaces, temple thresholds, and bonsai trees, the scene forms a poetic landscape that evokes the symbolic space of the Japanese garden.

The art of bonsai represents an aesthetic that condenses long temporal processes of nature into a miniature form. Each tree embodies patience, care, and continuity. This work translates the tradition of bonsai into a digital context, creating a minimal universe shaped by elements such as water, stone, and plant motifs.

Through the augmented reality layer, the physical space and the imagined garden overlap. Bonsai trees, reflective surfaces, and traditional Japanese motifs emerge as spatial layers within the environment. The resulting digital landscape evokes a calm visual atmosphere that recalls the stillness of Zen aesthetics and the rhythm of nature.

Yokai March is a virtual reality work inspired by the spiritual beings and supernatural figures found in Japanese folklore. The piece begins with a scene referencing historical Japanese aesthetics and gradually unfolds into a transforming visual universe.

In Japanese culture, yokai embody the fluid relationship between nature and the spirit world. Within this narrative, vegetation, atmosphere, and creatures slowly transform, turning familiar landscapes into strange and poetic forms. Birds with wings shaped like folding fans, shifting shadows, and evolving environments emerge as elements of this imaginary world.

Throughout the experience, the scene continuously evolves as folkloric imagery transforms into a speculative visual narrative. Positioned between history, myth, and imagination, this digital procession reinterprets the spirit stories of Japanese art within a contemporary virtual space.