Following the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan in 2011, video artist, Chie Yamayoshi looked to the annual blooming of the Japanese Cherry Blossom as a source of inspiration and renewal. An incredibly rare and transient event, Yamayoshi layered artificiality with the natural world by replicating the blooming through an 8-channel projection. Ephemeral Eternity tries to make the impermanent permanent and to preserve nature while remaining within the realm of artifice.

The 8-channel installation makes the ephemeral cherry blossoms permanent. The title Ephemeral Eternity resonates with the Japanese phrase “mono no aware,” which is translated as the “pathos of things” or an “empathy toward things.” The phrase speaks to an awareness of impermanence and addresses an appreciation of beauty held in Japanese culture. The brief season of the cherry blossoms also reflects the dichotomy of life and death.

Capturing a moment of the cherries in full bloom as well as conveying the residents’ lives as they recovered from the massive earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear meltdown, all the falling petals are digital creations constructed by applying 3D computer graphics particle systems that simulate each of the petal’s movements.

As one of the artist’s friends in Japan watched the piece, she expressed herself saying that “the cherry blossoms remind me of the visible anxiety and the invisible fear mixed within my mind after the disaster; I almost gave up on my country’s future. When the cherry trees began to bloom, their beauty moved me to tears and gave me hope to survive. Life goes on.”

Video still from Ephemeral Eternity

Video documentation of installation: Ephemeral Eternity

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