WOW participated in the image direction for HOSHIOTOYA, an installation of sound and light at Godaisan Chikurinji Temple in Kochi Prefecture that was celebrating the 1,300th year of its establishment. The overall event throughout the temple precincts was directed by world-renowned sound artist Junya Oikawa. WOW created a space from the entrance gate and along the main approach route to the temple that featured light and images utilizing the natural and scenic beauty of the temple.

Image Direction: Light Vein
The ecosystem of Chikurinji Temple, comprising the copious veins of water that envelop Mt. Godai and rugged and undulating green bamboo groves and densely succulent moss, together create an ethereal atmosphere in the temple precincts. The concept of “light vein” was based on Oikawa’s idea that the fantastical mental landscape that emerges in the midst of such a location would manifest itself in the form of light as night falls.

Life’s fundamental forms are visualized as particles of light and bubbles that are born from a scattering of microscopic “temples” witnessed throughout nature, such as tree roots and crevices in rocks. It is these that drift, then resonate with each other, coming together in veins of light before disappearing. At times, these veins seem to be responding to the steps of people, as if welcoming visitors to the temple precincts and leading them up to the main hall. The scene created by tracing the behavior and image of light that originally inhabited this place and blending it with the verdant nature of the temple precincts is expressed as pulsating life in constant flux, while also interweaving the light of the life that resides there.

WOW created a space where the workings of everyday life and the teachings of Buddhism, which have been woven together uninterrupted for 1,300 years at Chikurinji Temple, emerge as you stand contemplatively for a moment with a sharply focused mind.

About the Work
We propose InfoTexture, a design approach that recaptures the context and materiality behind the data as texture. As the first study, we made a video focusing on the volume of minor metals produced. We explored the visual beauty of rare metals as minerals; at the same time, we attempted to visualize them to consider the unbalance in the countries that produce minor metals.

"InForms" Project
This video was produced as part of an original project “InForms”. “InForms” is a project that explores the visual representation of “information” for an aesthetic experience of it. Rather than cutting and symbolizing information to directly transmit the intention, this approach is to explore the visualization of information that triggers creative thinking through a visual experience. This is our approach as a visual design studio WOW.

Project Web Site : informs.design/

Data Sources
- United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2022). World Population Prospects 2022, Online Edition.
- World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files.

Festivals have always been a source of emotional support and life-giving strength for people. This work is a video installation based on the theme of the Tohoku region’s celebrations and festivals. The challenge here is to reconstruct the traditional customs of “Hare no Hi,” which are days that the people of Tohoku have considered to be special since ancient times, and imbue them with new perspectives and interpretations.

▶Teaser Movie
▶Making Movie
▶WOW Talk Vol.11 Behind the Scene of “Festival Cornucopia” & “Refraction”
▶Discussion / Hiroyuki Takahashi (Independent Curator)

Telly Awards 2023
Gold in Immersive, Interactive & Mised : Animation
Silver in Immersive, Interactive & Mised : Use of Volumetric Capture

On the occasion of the opening of Yaskawa Mechatrec Suematsu Kyuki Corp.'s new office building, WOW was responsible for the space design of the atrium located in the center of the building. A light installation that mimics the behavior of nature was created in the atrium based on the space's original concept, which was "a riverbank like place where living things naturally congregate." This visual body of light, composed of 43 1.5-meter-long indirect lighting fixtures, was constructed using multi-fractal noise, reflecting the ever-changing appearance of natural light. Our aim was to organically dynamize the space by illuminating encounters, creativity, and the future born within the atrium with soft light.

Location : Fukuoka, Japan
Size : H4.2m × W1.6m × D1.8m
Materials : Alminium, LED

▶︎Motion Modality / Case Study
▶︎Motion Modality / Layer
▶︎Motion Modality / Passage with wind traces

Awards
Red Dot Award
Brands & Communication Design 2024

WOW has taken on the planning, direction and production of all four of the permanent exhibits at JERA museum HEKINAN, one of the community facilities of JERA Co., Inc., which has undergone an extensive program of refurbishment. The museum is adjacent to Hekinan Thermal Power Station (Hekinan City, Aichi Prefecture) and is designed as an experience-based museum, where visitors can enjoy learning intuitively about the latest power generation technologies and the path to zero-carbon emissions, which JERA aims to achieve by 2050.


ZONE 01 | Vision Theater

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An immersive panoramic theater that introduces JERA’s vision and a roadmap to a zero-emissions society of the future. The dynamic 180° screen measuring 16m by 4m introduces JERA’s business, solutions to energy issues, and methods of generating power. The scientific and experimental tone of the film describes JERA’s dedicated efforts to achieve zero emissions. In addition, by combining 3DCG/2D motion graphics with live-action images, and creating animations that utilize the mega-wide screen to its fullest extent, complex content is presented in a way that is accessible and easy to understand for the viewer.


ZONE 02 | Data Sphere

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This interactive exhibit visualizes JERA’s business operations in Japan and around the world based on data. Information is displayed on a globe-like sphere which is operated using a hand-held device. The visuals were produced to have a look evocative of a clean global environment. What’s more, the device was designed with a simple layered structure to enable intuitive operation. Contents for which knowledge is required were carefully animated one by one, so as to make the explanation easier to understand.

ZONE 03 | Hekinan Thermal Power Station 3D Projection

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This model projection exhibit explains everything about Hekinan Thermal Power Station, a cutting edge zero-emissions power station, recreating the power station on a 1/700th scale. The animations projected on the wall and on the model itself work in tandem to give visitors a more detailed idea about the routes by which coal and ammonia are transported, as well as the relationship between the position of the boilers and turbines. The projection highlights the scale of the plant, which is one of the largest coal-fired power plants in Japan, and its importance in supporting daily life and industry in the Chubu region, as well as its innovative initiatives that are capturing global attention.


ZONE 04 | JERA forest 2050

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This hands-on exhibit enables visitors to interact with a variety of wild birds in a beautiful natural environment of the future where zero emissions have been achieved. A rich natural environment is displayed on the large screen and wild birds follow you as you approach the screen. Visitors can learn through observation by moving around the binocular-shaped devices, and can even take home stickers of their favorite birds. The species of birds that appear on screen are based on records of wild birds that live in the nearby JERA forest HEKINAN, and the birds you see are designed to change with the seasons. Based on JERA’s commitment to environmental preservation, this exhibit has been created to make learning about ecosystems fun.


▶︎ JERA museum HEKINAN Official Website