project: prefecture 48 artwork installation

DESCRIPTION

Prefecture 48 is a multi-venue hub in the Sydney CBD from Japanese hospitality group, Azabu. The precinct is a celebration of Japanese cuisine and culture. Every detail has been carefully curated by a large team of professionals, not least the artworks from several notable Japanese artists handpicked by art consultancy, Ongarato. Di Emme was brought onto the project to manage the installation of the artworks in keeping with the vision of the art consultant, architect and the artists.

The project was an exercise in problem solving and project management. The installations had to complement the artworks and satisfy the Australian building codes, all within a heritage-listed Victorian warehouse.

The artworks are as diverse as the venues, and the bespoke pieces required custom installation methods. Di Emme fabricated mesh frameworks to suspend Hiroshi Kuriyama’s fluorescent light and glass tube artwork in the heritage cartway. Racso Jagarap’s gold wire sculpture in the robata grill needed custom brackets to secure the supple organic form. Di Emme fabricated the base and framework, and installed the panels for Hiroto Yoshizoe’s PIXEL computer-controlled LED display. While the biggest challenge was installing Yuki Tsuji’s artwork in the fine dining venue. The ikebana-inspired ‘Supernature’ is a 1-tonne seven-metre-long timber sculpture with internal lighting to illuminate embedded resin elements. The artist and a small team of craftsmen worked on the piece in Di Emme’s studio for a week before it was transported to the site for rigging.

Japan has 47 diverse prefectures; Sydney now has Prefecture 48. The development has transformed the three-storey warehouse, and the bespoke artworks are integral. This was a true collaboration with Di Emme working with the architect, engineers, art consultant, artists, builders and the client.

PROJECT SUMMARY

Di Emme was brought onto the Prefecture 48 project by Buildcorp to manage the installation of a range of bespoke artworks in keeping with the vision of the art consultant, architect and the artists. The multi-venue precinct is a celebration of Japanese cuisine and culture and every detail has been carefully curated.

client

Buildcorp

Services

LOCATION

Prefecture 48, 230 Sussex St, Sydney

dATE

2024