hiroshi fuji kaeru toy installation (1)

photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon for Reuters | click to enlarge

Serial recycling artist Hiroshi Fuji brings his eco-friendly art to 3331 Arts Chiyoda where he created a large-scale installation using over 50,000 old toys leftover from his toy exchange program. Based on specifications like size and color, Fuji created dinosaurs, flying birds, mountains and walk-ways, filling the entire main gallery with colorful remnants of our childhood.

But the exhibition, which just closed last weekend, wasn’t all fun and games. Despite being made from colorful toys, the installation, at its core, was a heaping mound of discarded trash. It was a poignant reminder of the disposable nature of modern toys and how quickly we outgrow and discard them.

hiroshi fuji kaeru toy installation (8)

photo by Masanori Ikeda | click to enlarge

hiroshi fuji kaeru toy installation (7)

Hiroshi Fuji is well known for his sculptural works made from recycled materials. In 2009 he floated a gigantic boat, made from scrap PET bottles, down a river. And in 2008 he created a pretty amazing “forest” with hanging sculptures. His long-term project is called kaekko, an exchange system for old toys that Fuji started 13 years ago.

hiroshi fuji kaeru toy installation (2)

all photos below by Kim Kyung-Hoon for Reuters

hiroshi fuji kaeru toy installation (3) hiroshi fuji kaeru toy installation (4) hiroshi fuji kaeru toy installation (5) hiroshi fuji kaeru toy installation (6)

 

 

 

 

Source: collabcubed | 3331 Arts Chiyoda