Ala Champ
 
00:00/

MUNI

A Leading Dining Destination In Adelaide's Rural Township of Willunga

LE CORBUSIER

Visit The Great Swiss-French Architect's Studio-Apartment, Restored And Open To The Public

AMAN KYOTO

In An Untouched & Secluded Private Garden in Kyoto, Find One Of The World's Best Hotels

Invisible Possibilities

Under The Theme of 'In the Presence of Absence', Desert X AlUla 2024 Enquires ‘What Cannot Be Seen?’

URBAN ZEN AT AMAN TOKYO

A Tranquil Sanctuary to Stay, High Amongst The Tokyo Skyline

Igniting Flavour by Fire

Adelaide’s First Open-Flame Restaurant Is One of The Top Dining Destinations in the Country

A Culinary Journey Through Taiwan & Beyond

Owner-Chef Richie Lin's Taipei Restaurant Remains Highly Acclaimed — And For Good Reason

Mt Fuji Dreaming

This Glamping Resort is Bringing Guests Closer to Nature

ISSEY MIYAKE SS24

Grasping The Formless: Satoshi Kondo's Spring Summer 2024 Collection

Imagination, Taste and Emotion

In Bali’s Creative Heart, Find a Poetic and Enriching Dessert Restaurant where the Menu Stems from their Own Garden

SHIROIYA HOTEL

24 Hours In One of Japan’s Best Art & Design Hotel Destinations

Terunobu Fujimori’s La Collina

Connecting To Its Surrounding Landscape in in Omihachiman, Shiga

SUBSPACE 2023

The 4-Day Event in Sydney Celebrates the Theme 'ON TRANSIT'

WHERE TO EAT IN PARIS

Seven Best Places & Spaces To Wine & Dine

Architecture Deeply Interconnected With Nature

SANAA's Ryue Nishizawa Weaves Architectural Flow At This Retreat in Karuizawa

Fine Dining at an Altitude of 2000m

Sustainably Championing Ingredients from the Alpine Region

KAWS: HOLIDAY JAPAN

The New York Artist Unveils A 40m-Wide Companion At The Foot Of Mt Fuji

July, 2019
KAWS: HOLIDAY (2019) © RKRKRK

Not many can execute a monumental feat of a large-scale and site-specific project in such epic proportions. New York artist KAWS (a.k.a Brian Donnelly) in partnership with ongoing collaborator and Hong Kong-based company All Rights Reserved, has brought his familiar Companion as a 40-metre-wide inflated sculpture, that, paired with a camping site makes it a destination for fans and families alike.

Titled KAWS: HOLIDAY, it is the second iteration after the global debut of the 28m-floating Companion first in Seoul’s Seokchon Lake, Korea in 2018, and in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour earlier this year. Now, the travelling Companion is erected at 40-metres-wide for the duration of one week, with campers able to enjoy the large-scale artwork alongside one of Japan’s World Heritage Site, Mt Fuji. As Donnelly explained, “It’s Mt Fuji, so no matter what you put in front of it it’s going to feel small, so we had to make it quite big.” 

The reclining KAWS Companion is a sight to see; with it’s horizontal position in perfect alignment with the active volcano and sacred Japanese mountain. As the KAWS: HOLIDAY Japan Opening Day early morning saw a mesmerising array of red and orange sunrise hues that welcomed the new installation (seen in images below), the unforgivable mountainous region welcomed rains by afternoon. However damp, the mist-filled atmosphere added to a unexplainable enchantment in the air.

Artist Brian Donnelly (KAWS) holds a strong connection with Japan, where he was first introduced to the collectible toy scene, and established strong ties with local influential creatives such as NIGO and Hiroshi Fujiwara to Masamichi Katayama of architecture firm Wonderwall (who later designed KAWS’ original Tokyo store Original Fake, in partnership with Medicom). It is no surprise that his return garnered such a warm reception and unveiling of the unforgettable installation by Mt Fuji.

KAWS: HOLIDAY
July 18-24, 2019
Fumotoppara Camping Ground
Mt Fuji / Shizuoka, Japan

KAWS & SK All.RightsReserved (2019) © Photo: Satomi Yamauchi for Ala Champ
Sketch (2019) KAWS: HOLIDAY © KAWS
KAWS: HOLIDAY (2019) © Photo: Satomi Yamauchi for Ala Champ
New York Artist Brian Donnelly (KAWS) 2019 © Photo: Satomi Yamauchi for Ala Champ
KAWS: HOLIDAY (2019) © AllRightsReserved
KAWS: HOLIDAY (2019) © AllRightsReserved
KAWS: HOLIDAY (2019) © AllRightsReserved
July, 2019