Green Walls and Living Sculpture Blend Art and Fashion
March 24, 2013 by Robin Plaskoff Horton
Complex and intricate living art arrangements composed of thousands of plants climb the interior walls of of Isetan Shinjuku, one of Japan’s oldest department stores.
For a recent unveiling of the store’s “Fashion Museum” botanical artist Makota Azuma’s The Art of Plants works off a theme merging art and fashion, a concept in which the retailer is investing for its revitalization.
Azuma’s Collapsible Leaves uses real leaves woven into numerous green wall paintings and organically shaped vertical gardens, transforming the retail interior into a verdant planted art installation.
An ephemeral work on display through March 26, 2013, the exhibit is typical of the artist’s experimental creations in which he incorporates rich plant patterns to line walls and fill window installations.
A ten-foot living collage forms the lobby focal point as customers enter, setting the tone for leafy pieces that wind around columns and punctuate clothing displays, while living mandalas like chandeliers hang from the ceilings, with curvaceous leafy freestanding sculptures and planted walls of interwoven shades of green mix with fashion mannequins throughout the store.
In the shoe department, a green wall sculpture calls to mind the sole of a shoe…
A detail of one of the collapsable leaf tapestries with contrasting textures and colors…
Azuma’s installation is great example of living art mixing with fashion to bring a product alive and extends once again the idea of plants functioning as interior accessories like jewelry, hats, and scarves accenting the perfect couture suit.
Category: Experiencing, Green & Sustainable, Green Walls, Vertical Gardens
Tags: botanical artworks, floral art, green building, Green Walls, indoor planted walls, Japan, living walls, planted interiors
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These green walls are amazing! I have been experimenting with growing aloes on walls for years now but mine have never looked as lush. Living art is the way of the future! Wow, I am so inspired from this, thank you!!
— March 25, 2013 @ 04:44
Sustainable High-Rise Greens Sydney Skyline | Urban Gardens Pingback said:
[…] Spaces In addition to the decorative plants located throughout the building, a 9.7m high green wall greets office workers and visitors upon entry into the lobby–an amazing piece of living […]
— April 2, 2013 @ 17:23
Azuma Makoto's Frozen Botanical Sculptures - Urban Gardens Pingback said:
[…] installation, Iced Flowers, botanical artist Makota Azuma encapsulated flowers within large blocks of ice, as if they were frozen in time. When the ice […]
— June 26, 2015 @ 15:54
The Sole of Horticouture: Fashion Forward Vegetables and Flowers - Urban Gardens Pingback said:
[…] Julie Lavie’s Pantoufle de Vert (French for green slipper), a collection of shoes created from flowers and plants that she’s memorialized in a series of cultivated […]
— April 14, 2016 @ 17:44
How To Partition Your Living Spaces With Plants - Urban Gardens Pingback said:
[…] one space into two or more without undertaking any major construction. Both inside and out, living walls and vertical gardens can multitask as room dividers and privacy screens, while also bringing nature inside. These […]
— July 19, 2016 @ 19:40
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[…] 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 […]
— February 3, 2017 @ 05:55
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[…] his past works, Makoto has frozen vibrantly hued botanicals in large blocks of ice, created massive floral wall sculptures, and even launched two flower arrangements and a white pine bonsai into the stratosphere, […]
— July 18, 2018 @ 01:24