As a quick break from Synoptic work, my Mum and I went up to see an exhibition going on at Japan House in London. The exhibition was about contrasting parts about Japanese culture. The first part of the exhibition we saw was called 'City Lights,' and was a panoramic video illustrating what city life is like in Japanese cities like Tokyo.
It was an amazing video, spread out in a dark room in the shape of a teardrop. When I stood in the centre, it felt like virtual reality. This is a recurring theme in the exhibition. The video used different parts of urban life in a kaleidoscope of SG rendered models and images, which including things like apartments, skyscrapers and bullet trains. It was an amazing menagerie of life in a big city.
The second part of the exhibition was called 'Woodland Shade,' and was all about Kokeshi Dolls. Kokeshi Dolls all whittled from wood and painted in the shapes of people, or animals such as birds and flowers. Kokeshi dolls were made for children to ward off evil spirits. This actually relates to our Synoptic Project, as it's set in a fantasy Asian-inspired world.
There was an interactive row of Kokeshi dolls which you put protect your face onto if you went to a computer and took your picture. We had a lot of fun with this, and we got to see how other people looked with their faces on the dolls as well. There was an entire row of Kokeshi dolls, but they were blank. Their paint was projected on, and they each had different animations they would do. Sometimes they would twitch, other times they disappear. It was fascinating to watch an old culture be presented in a completely modern way.
Kokeshi dolls were first created in the hot spring towns of the Tohaku region in Japan. They were sold as charms and toys for children, and many believed that they would ward off evil and that human souls can inhabit the dolls. 'To inhabit' or 'to dwell' is translated as 'yadoru' in Japanese.
Kokeshi dolls are also painted in bright colours and simple patterns, perhaps symbolizing good harvest, or good health. Believed to be in these dolls are the wishes and prayers of the people who create and who owns them.
Kokeshi dolls are a type of poppo, which is the local name of the small wooden toys made in the Tohoku region. These a carved out of wood in different ways to create animals, each only a single log of koshiabura trees during the winters there.
There was an interactive screen with panels that could be placed down. These panels went up to different heights, where digital birds would land on them in a colourful woodland scene. There was also a touch-screen game that allowed you to carve into a piece of wood, and then it would be coloured digitally, and made into a toy. I made a spinning top, which coloured itself red, yellow and green thanks to the AI.
It was an amazing exhibition, and I hope to see something like it again. It's amazing to think that technology has come so far since the days where people would make everything themselves. I think it's important to remember that technology isn't everything, but it can be used to enhance what we already have, and this is the perfect way to present it.