9000 Paper Balloons (URHERE) 9000のペーパー・バルーンズ

Inspired by the stranger-than-fiction secret weapons that floated over America during World War II, 9000 Paper Balloons is a poetic and eerie performance that examines distance – the distance between two friends, between two enemies, two cultures and two generations. Japanese artist Maiko Kikuchi and American puppeteer Spencer Lott blend puppetry, animation and mask as they weave their own family histories into a surreal and visually stunning collage that speaks to the past and the future.

第二次世界大戦終盤、日本軍は和紙とこんにゃく糊で作られた気球に爆弾を吊り下げた「風船爆弾」を製造、約9000発がアメリカ本土へ放球されました。この嘘のような本当の話「風船爆弾」にまつわる日本とアメリカのエピソードを、アーティスト/パペッティアの菊地麻衣子とスペンサー・ロットがアニメーションやマスク、パペットをブレンドしたコラージュ形式で語りつつ、人種や国、距離によって生まれる人と人との隔たりについて問いかけます。

9000 Paper Balloons is available on demand on URHERE, a one-of-a-kind, rigorously curated virtual platform for outdoor and digital premieres. URHERE aims to occupy an important part of the art ecosystem which nurtures experimentation, sparks dialogue, and creates engagement with the local community.

Funding for URHERE has been provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies as part of the Digital Accelerator for Arts and Culture funding initiative. With their support, and with guidance from Lapine Group, HERE has partnered with design firm Imaginary Places (developers of Decameron Row and PROTOTYPE’s 2021 Modulation) to create the platform concept and design.