Fujiko Nakaya
Fog installation
Fog in Toronto #71624 is an atmospheric sculpture created by artificially produced water fog and shaped instantaneously by the microclimate of the place where it is created. Sculptured by the wind, its ever-changing form is a probe in real time of the meteorological and topographical conditions of its environment. It appears like natural fog and disappears naturally when the conditions change. Being a phenomenon and an artifact at the same time, fog sculpture can be described as "articulated" nature, a bonsai of atmosphere.
The experience of fog sculpture induces a potent dialogue not only with nature, but with oneself. What it reveals is the relationship between artificial and natural, things and being, tangible and abstract, mundane and sublime - their co-existence beyond boundaries and ultimate interchangeability.
The number assigned to the title of each of Nakaya's works indicates the International Weather Code for the meteorological station closest to the site where the fog sculpture is. In this case, the code #71624 is that of Toronto's Lester B. Pearson Airport.
Born in Sapporo, Japan, Tokyo-based artist Fujiko Nakaya received her B.A. at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. As a founding member of E.A.T. (Experiments in Art and Technology) she created the world's first fog sculpture in 1970, shrouding the dome of the Pepsi Pavilion during EXPO 70, Osaka, Japan. Since then, she has worked with artificial fog extensively in various forms around the world, most recently at The Natural History Museum of Latvia, Riga, Latvia (2005).
In association with the University of Toronto, Art Metropole, Toronto and with the generous assistance of the Japan-Canada Fund of the Canada Council for the Arts.
Image: Fujiko Nakaya, Foggy Falls, 1982. Full-scale field test at Musashi-Kyuryo Forest Park, Tokyo, Japan.
Photo credit: Jill Krauskopf
Map location 8
University of Toronto, Philosopher's Walk (north of Hoskin Avenue)
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