Send virtual flowers to Japan at a new multimedia installation Dandelion at Gardens by the Bay. From 9 to 15 November 2020, this interactive installation will allow people in Singapore to send dandelion fluff in real time to locations in Japan, setting off blooms, and vice versa.
Dandelion At Gardens By The Bay
Dandelion is a collaboration between Gardens by the Bay and Tokyo-based creative company NAKED. The installation was conceptualised by NAKED’s artist and founder Ryotaro Muramatsu.
It is intended to provide a way for people to connect across borders in the present circumstances where physical travel is difficult.
Interacting through Virtual Dandelion Fluff
Located at Supertree Grove, Dandelion is a two-metre tall sculpture. Visitors can scan a QR code at the sculpture and point their smartphones at the sculpture in order to make virtual dandelion fluff appear at the corresponding Dandelion installations in Tokyo at Tokyo Tower and Shibuya’s Miyashita Park.
These dandelion fluffs will then transform into virtual peonies.
Correspondingly, when someone in Japan interacts with the Dandelion sculptures in Tokyo, dandelion fluff will appear in Singapore and transform into sakura or cherry blossoms. Each sakura at the Singapore installation represents a person in Tokyo interacting in real time with the sculpture.
Creating Connections
This is NAKED first cross-border, real-time installation. It hopes to install the Dandelion network in major cities to connect other communities around the world.
NAKED’s founder Mr Muramatsu said, “I am happy to present the first Dandelion installation outside Japan at Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay. Gardens by the Bay is the perfect place to host this interactive artwork augmenting interaction between person and flower because the Gardens is a clear representation of a world in which nature and people coexist harmoniously.”
Adding on, he said, “The feeling we have when we see a beautiful flower is universal, and so are our wishes for the world to become a better place. Flowers need no words. They are completely impartial. Their seeds fly to new places at random and bloom there. Through this art, we hope to spread this spirit and connect with our friends in Singapore and in the rest of the world through prayers for peace, kindness, and positivity.”
The Dandelion installation will be active from 7 pm to 10 pm. Admission is free but a maximum of five people are allowed to approach the installation at a time.
