Drip...drip.... As you enter into the room, we want you to listen to the sound of echoing water drops.

The sound of water droplets falling from the glass reverberates across the room, ripples spreading from where the droplets have fallen. The reflection of the light on the water and the sound of each drop playing through the speakers surrounds the room. We want you to spend some time calmly sitting in this space listening to the sounds and gazing upon the reflection of the light.

This piece was created by Tetsuya Umeda, an artist who defies the boundaries of genre through installation and performance art. In this hotel, where you have the luxury of reflecting on each piece in an Installation environment, what kind of piece will he create? We took a moment to sit down with the artist himself.

---We are here with Tetsuya Umeda. Could you explain the title of this piece for us?


There are two different titles, originally, there was just one title, but since I was in charge of two different rooms, I split the title into two and assigned one to each of the rooms respectively.

----Then, the title for room 304 is “no man’s waters,” and the title for room 404 is “place that don’t see?”

When I was first approached for this project and created a prototype, the initial plan was to have the two rooms connected in some way. If I had gone with this initial plan, the water would have dripped down from the top floor and gathered into the bottom floor.

----So the initial idea was that the water would flood down into the bottom floor?

However, if I would have continued with that plan, the two rooms would be separated and there would be no way to see the full picture of what was actually happening. That in itself strongly influenced the title originally.

----So if the two floors had remained connected, the titles would have been reflective of the functions of each of the rooms.

That’s right. In the end that’s what I ended up going with. It’s not just one person’s possession, and I wanted that to reflect in the title. The guests that are staying here will end up sleeping in this room, right? If you think about it, this space becomes completely their own for just one night...

----This installation includes lighting fixtures and an electric current that acts as a dynamic force. Could you explain this a bit more in detail?

When you are considering the relationship between light and electricity, one is the source of the other. Light is just the physical manifestation that can be seen, it is the output however, its source is electricity. The most important aspect of this piece is the gravitational pull. Gravity and centrifugal force. Both of these physical phenomena are used as a source of power, and are fused together to make the piece move. There is a subtle balance which powers this piece.

Electricity is something that happens in the background. You turn on a switch and your coffee gets made. It’s not something we really pay attention to. However, when you are looking at this piece you are forced to pay attention to it. Now that I think about it, that may be a feature of my installations and art. The mechanisms behind the piece are out in the open. Just like the conversation we had about the building just now. I wanted to create something that would draw attention to the layout of the building, something that would draw your eye to the main point. The projection of the lights, more like the reflection of the object on the wall, is there precisely because the artwork itself exists. What kind of process creates that? I want that to be out in the open.

--Lastly, do you have a message for the guests staying in this room?

Though you don’t realize it, the water is dripping down. That action itself will actually help you to concentrate on a variety of things. I want to say thank you for choosing to stay in this room. You are quite benevolent for doing so.