The atmosphere of these colorful rooms can be changed with the simple push of a button. The controller, which uses the numbers 1 through 12 to change the lights, is located between the two beds. Try pushing your favorite number.
The carefully placed lights on the wall will automatically change depending on which button you push, and the walls will wriggle, as if the room is breathing. Room 501 has a walking dinosaur painted on the walls, and room 601 features a dragon swimming through space. These slowly, ever-changing rooms will calm your heart with the way they replicate a calm afternoon or the mysterious depth of the ocean.
Once you’ve found a setting you like, there’s something we’d like you to try. Lie down on the bed as if you are bathing in the light, and just observe the room. Plant yourself firmly down, and you’ll begin to feel as if the room is wrapping itself around you. This extravagance is, by design, something you can only experience in this room.
Why did the artist create this experience? Let’s ask Mon himself.
ーーPlease introduce yourself.
My name is Mon Koutaro Ooyama. I painted rooms 501 and 601, called “NEXTEFX”.
ーーI believe you’re most well-known for your large paintings. Please tell us more about what kinds of things you do as an artist.
As you said, I often make large wall paintings. The core of my work is probably what they call murals. But originally I started out doing live paintings.
ーーYou went above and beyond in painting these "NEXTEFX" rooms to create an expression of space. What was on your mind when you started working on this piece?
For these pieces I had to paint a whole room. A lot of my inspiration for that was comparing the idea being a part of a live painting scene with the concept of being embraced by music. Music has a direct effect on the body, like humidity and temperature. It has the power to control the room. Even if you close your eyes and plug your ears, your body vibrates with it. But with live painting, if you don’t look at it, you won’t notice what’s happening. If you suddenly see it, it has the potential to impact you in an instant, but at the same time, you could also completely miss it. So my first idea was to think about how the guests will feel if I make a space where it feels like they have walked into a painting.
The “EFX” part of “NEXTEFX” comes from the word “effector”, which is a music term. “NEXT” refers to the next presentation of a mural or a live painting. That’s how I came up with the name “NEXTEFX”.
ーーFinally, please say something to the guests staying in these rooms.
Thank you for staying in “NEXTEFX”. How do you like it? I hope my paintings have some kind of effect on your universe, or on your unconscious mind. Thank you.