Art Basel and the ICC to present a new large-scale public light installation by Tatsuo Miyajima in Hong Kong

Internationally acclaimed Japanese artist Tatsuo Miyajima will present a new large- scale public light installation during Art Basel’s show in Hong Kong this March. Each night from March 21 to 26 ‘Time Waterfall’ will be shown across the entire façade of Hong Kong’s iconic 490 meter high International Commerce Centre (ICC) on the Kowloon harbor front.

‘Time Waterfall’ is a new work by the artist which aims to convey the eternal luminance of human life, expressing an ethos of ‘living in the present’. The work will comprise the natural numbers one to nine, which will cascade down the face of the ICC, while never reaching zero. The continuous counting down symbolizes life, while the zero implied by the extinction of light acts as a metaphor for death. Each digit will be of different sizes, and each will cascade at its own speed, creating a number of layers that each represents a trajectory of individual lives. This work continues the artist’s signature use of light-emitting diode (LED) counters to demonstrate his three fundamental concepts – ‘Keep Changing’; ‘Connect with Everything’; and ‘Continue Forever’. The absence of zero in his works refers to the Buddhist concept of ‘Sunya’, which symbolizes the void or non-existence. The use of numbers, as abstract and conceptual symbols, becomes Miyajima’s universal language, allowing his work to be appreciated and adapted internationally.

The work will be visible from numerous locations across Hong Kong, including the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Recommended locations for public viewing are Tamar Park, Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park and the terrace on Podium 3 and 4 of the IFC Mall.

Tatsuo Miyajima (b. 1957) lives and works in Ibaraki, Japan. He is known for his light works using LED counters that flash in incessant cycles between one and nine without ever reaching zero. Miyajima has held solo exhibitions internationally, including ‘Tatsuo Miyajima – KU’ at Lisson Gallery, Milan, Italy (2014); ‘Tatsuo Miyajima: LIFE I-Model’ at SCAI THE BATHHOUSE, Tokyo, Japan (2012); ‘House Lives with Time’ in Seoul, South Korea (2012); ‘ASHES TO ASHES, DUST TO DUST’ at The Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing (2011), amongst others. He has also presented works in numerous international biennales including the 43rd Venice Biennale (1988) and 48th Venice Biennale (1999). His works are placed in the permanent collection of museums such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Tate Modern, London; the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and Kunstmuseum Bern. In 2012, Miyajima was appointed Vice President of Kyoto University of Art and Design, and has been serving as Vice President of Tohoku University of Art and Design since 2006. The artist is represented by Lisson Gallery, Buchmann Galerie, and SCAI THE BATHHOUSE.

‘Time Waterfall’ is co-commissioned by Art Basel and the International Commerce Centre in Hong Kong.