Events

Yokohama Triennale 2017’s theme and main keywords are connectivity, isolation, co-existence, and diversity. We refer to facilities implementing projects and exhibitions linked to these keywords, and places and buildings with historical backgrounds as “Yokohama Sites,” which are introduced here. Meanwhile, the artist Tamura Yuichiro combines several sites like stars and creates Constellation γ(Gamma), a narrative with a unique viewpoint. Visitors can view the story Tamura has woven in the former third-class dining hall of the ship NYK Hikawamaru moored in Yamashita Park.

 

Constellation γ(Gamma)

At one time, sailors at sea determined their locations by the constellations in the night sky. Today, that skill has been replaced with GPS. Technological advances turn today into yesterday, and lead us to preface sentences with the phrase “At one time…”

At one time the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse, built as a government-bonded storage facility during the Meiji Era (1868- 1912), was crucial to Yokohama’s economic life as a port city. The advent of standardized shipping containers rendered it obsolete.

Likewise, the ship Hikawa Maru was once a dominant presence on the North Pacific trade route connecting Japan and the United States, but its role was taken over by aircraft. Morse code, once the primary means of communication among ocean-going

vessels, was replaced by satellite communications. Yokohama is home to historic sites that have outlived the roles they played “at one time.” Now, let us lend an ear to what these sites can tell us. Together, they form a constellation. We call it γ (Gamma).

 

NYK Hikawamaru

Open: 10:00-17:00 (enter by 16:30)

Closed on Mondays (except for national holidays, where the ship will be open on the holiday but closed on the following workday); also closed Sept. 5, 2017