FORMING SPHERES
Tokolo Asao + Hiramoto Tomoki + Iguchi Kota
At the opening ceremony for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, drones formed a globe in the sky in the kumi-ichimatsu-mon pattern−one of the traditional Japanese checkered patterns. That globe, which was created by fitting a rectangle into each face of a disdyakis triacontahedron generated from a rhombic triacontahedron, will be reconfigured for this project as a new installation. The project is a collaboration by Tokolo Asao, the designer of the official Tokyo 2020 Olympics emblem, and who was involved in the opening ceremony’s drone display, Hiramoto Tomoki, who used digital fabrication technology to create the podium out of scrap plastic, and Iguchi Kota, who designed the “kinetic sport pictograms” also featured at the Games. It will take the form of a richly varied video installation, to be presented at the 15th Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions in February 2023.
Year Selected
2022
Project
FORMING SPHERES
Summary
The latest work by the team who contributed to the much-discussed drone display at the opening ceremony for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, FORMING SPHERES used 3D printers to reconfigure Tokolo Asao’s kumi-ichimatsu-mon traditional checkered Japanese pattern from the Tokyo 2020 emblems as a spherical sculpture. When light is projected onto the sculpture, it transforms into an installation created through the interplay of light and shadow. FORMING SPHERES was unveiled as an outdoor exhibit at Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions 2023, and CCBT held an exhibition introducing how it was made and the prototype versions.
Profile
Tokolo Asao
Artist
Tokolo Asao was born in Tokyo in 1969. He studied architecture since his childhood under EGASHIRA Shin, and began to create patterns on September 11, 2001. Under the theme of “connecting,” he continues to work across the boundaries of art, architecture, design, and other fields. He also designs and produces three-dimensional objects based on the same principle. Major works include emblems for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, a glass pattern for the Dainagoya Building’s lower level, the Tokolo Pattern Magnet, etc. In addition, he has been a part-time lecturer at the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Engineering since 2016, and at the University of Tokyo’s College of Liberal Arts since 2018.
Hiramoto Tomoki
Spatial Designer / Architect
Hiramoto Tomoki was born in 1987, and graduated from Keio University’s Graduate School of Media and Governance (SFC) with a Master’s degree in Ex-Design. He was involved in the launch of FabLab Japan as a student, and established wip in 2015. He has been active in design on various scales, from product to spatial, using digital technology. For the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, he worked on the podium project, and participated in the production of a 3D drone animation for the opening ceremony. He is the author of the book “”3D Printing Handbook/O’Reilly Japan,”” and a regular contributor to design magazines.
Iguchi Kota
Visual Designer / Creative Director
Iguchi Kota was born in 1984, and is based in New York and Tokyo. He founded TYMOTE Inc. in 2008 while studying at Musashino Art University’s Department of Basic Design, and in 2013, the Creative Association CEKAI. He was in charge of the production of the “Tokyo 2020 Moving Sports Pictogram,” the first of its kind in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. He also participated in the opening ceremony as video director, and produced a 3D drone animation for the Games. Major awards include the 2014 Tokyo TDC Award, D&AD 2015 Yellow Pencil, NY ADC Award 2015 Gold, The One Show 2022 Silver, AICP Show 2022 Design Award, AICP Post Awards 2022 Motion Design and Graphics, and more. Iguchi is a visiting professor at the Kyoto University of Arts, and a part-time lecturer at Musashino Art University.
CCBT Art Incubation Program
One of CCBT’s core programs, the Art Incubation Program provides opportunities for creative talent to undertake new projects and makes those processes accessible to the public, facilitating forms of artistic expression, exploration, and action that change our city for the better. Selected through an open call, five artist fellows will act as CCBT partners, developing their projects, making the creative process public, exhibiting the results, and holding workshops and talks.
Details: CCBT Art Incubation Program
