This incredibly realistic, rippling installation, entitled Mizukagami (Water Mirror), was created by Japanese art director and designer Rikako Nagashima in collaboration with designer Hideto Hyoudou. The true to life forms are actually made out of acrylic and were installed by the two artists throughout a small room. Dripping down the sides of a table or along the surface of a wall, the amorphous shapes formed the illusion of liquid in the most unexpected places.
The ultimate goal of the project was to challenge viewers’ perceptions of reality and to raise an awareness of how people observe the world. The miscellaneous items, randomly placed furniture, and backwards text worked closely together to create a new awareness of space.
Standing in the room, viewers could begin to understand the piece a bit more by reading the text printed along the walls, which only became easily legible when looking into the mirrors. The text reads, “When water is still, it reflects our world as is. Beautiful or horrid, chaos or neat, light and shadow, accepting it all.”
