The Silent Room Sculptural Installation, 2019. 7330 × 1630 × 278 cm.

For the Soy Sauce Association building on the island of Shodoshima, Hans Op de Beeck came up with a new immersive sculptural installation; an artwork as a total experience for the visitor.
On the ground floor of the building, he creates both a small (black) and a large (mainly grey) space. In the first space, the viewer can sit down quietly on a bench to take off the shoes, and receive a good cup of tea and some kuromame (matcha kuro) at a small counter.
From there he can enter the adjacent, much larger space. This garden-like space will be completely designed and sculpted by the artist and his team. In grey, black, white and pink hues, there is a sculpted library, a grand piano, a water lily pond, rocks and blossom trees, and sculptures of children in both playing and meditative poses. A girl blows a soap bubble, a seated boy holds a glass ball in his hands, another holds a toy arrow and bow in his hands, another boy crouches and plays with marbles... As if in a moment of meditation and concentration, they all serenely have their eyes closed.
The viewer is invited to sit down in this quiet, mainly grey room on furniture designed by the artist, where he can relax and enjoy the special, evocative mood of the room. The artist composes a soundscape of sounds and musical motifs that help lead the viewer to a moment of tranquillity.
The underlying idea is to create a total experience that unites Belgium/ Europe and Japan/ Asia in a space that brings together aspects from both cultural environments, as well as refers to the island of Shodoshima and the very location of the art work itself.
Op de Beeck has always worked around the ideas of silence, calm, tranquillity, meditation and consolation throughout his work. Sculpted figures with closed eyes and sculptural interpretations of nature (water lily ponds, blossom trees, rocks) and representations of culture (grand piano, library, music) are recurring motifs in his work.
By adding the drinking of tea and offering small soy snacks, the artwork even more becomes an active experience for the spectator.

Photo Credit: Keizo Kioku