On Friday 23 September the last and biggest installation of LIFT11 „A Path In The Forest“ by Japanese architect Tetsuo Kondo will be opened in Kadriorg Park. LIFT11 urban installations festival is part of the programme of the European Capital of Culture Tallinn 2011.

During four months ten location-specific works have appeared at various locations in Tallinn to highlight sites and angles in contrast with the ‘postcard’ image of Tallinn, addressing local residents as well as visitors. While the other ten works of LIFT11 were selected in a public design contest, the eleventh installation, ‘A Path In The Forest’ by Tetsuo Kondo is made by invitation and arranged in partnership with the EU–Japan Fest Japan Committee, which engages in promoting Japanese culture in Europe. The installation will be in sync with the 11FLIRTS exhibition of the Tallinn Architecture Biennale.

Locations for the other site-specific works of LIFT11 were selected by local artists. Tetsuo Kondo is an architect from Tokyo, and therefore Tallinn’s Kadriorg Park, created in an international design language by non-locals, became the right location for his installation. This work is site-specific by how the author has read the place and taken in its distinctness and atmosphere.

Like other works of LIFT11, ‘A Path In The Forest’ will bring the audience to where one does not usually happen to be: to a walk above the ground in the midst of the trees, looking at the park and the surroundings from another angle. The installation will be ready in the autumn, inviting people to perceive how the nature is changing, how the trees are changing colour and eventually dropping their leaves altogether. “Walking this white path will be like reading a modern Japanese novel. We are asked to join in a curious and extraordinary journey, where the atmosphere is recognisably familiar and at the same time fascinatingly strange, making the border between a dream and wakefulness disappear,” says curator Margit Aule.

„A Path In The Forest“ offers a chance to experience the installation traditions of the unique contemporary Japanese architecture. The installation is interesting both because of its idea as well as its construction. The 95 meter long path  that runs between the trees is  supported by a steel tube that stands by itself and leans against the trees just a little.

„We don’t look at the trees from underneath but we get closer to the leaves and slide through the branches,“ explains Tetsuo Kondo. „I have tried to create this work in a way as if the trees would have been created for this installation.“

„

A Path In The Forest“ will remain in Kadriorg Park for four weeks from 24 September to 22 October.

LIFT11 is a festival of urban installations in Tallinn’s public space from 5 June to 22 October 2011. The festival belongs to the programme of European Capital of Culture Tallinn 2011 and is being organised by NPO KAOS. On a wider scale, LIFT11 attempts to break down prejudice towards contemporary art in public space and draw attention to the ample array of opportunities for using city space.

A PATH IN THE FOREST

by Tetsuo Kondo Architects
Structural engineering by
SAPS (Sasaki and Partners): Mutsuro Sasaki, Yoshiyuki Hiraiwa
Location: Kadriorg Park (near Japanese garden)
Duration: 24 September – 22 October
Lisainfo:
http://www.lift11.ee and http://www.tab.ee