U-Space

U-Space is a total installation that immerses you into a particular world, aimed at experiencing particular feelings and emotions. Within a ten-minute session, the visitor experiences a different life, unique and personal depending on the specifics of his individual perception. Each total installation has its own theme, predetermining the spectrum of feelings, emotions and thoughts, emerging inside the U-Space that the viewer then transforms into his own personal experiences.

In March, all of Japan marvels at cherry blossoms. There's something mystical in a huge cloud of tender petals which covers the earth every spring and turns daily routine into a fairytale. Legend has it, many years ago a poor old pauper who lived at the foot of mount Fuji, wanted to leave a mark in people's memories before he died but he didn't have anything, and he then decided to plant a thousand seedlings of cherry trees in the mountains. It was extremely tough — cold weather and droughts destroyed young plants but the old man did not give up and kept planting and looking after the trees. One glorious spring they all simultaneously broke into blossom and people were amazed by this beauty. The old man didn't see that spring but people, who did, were immersing in the soft pink cloud and coming to the belief that there is no death, and spring will last forever, and life is wonderful, and happiness will arrive, and all their dreams will come true.

The majority of us lost the tradition of pilgrimage to holy places but, much like centuries ago, from time to time we must distance ourselves from the daily routine and ask ourselves who we are and where we're going. With time, the need for actual physical contact with one's past grows and we return to the family’s homes and parents’ graves. It ' s there that we become our true selves again, drawing strength from our community with humankind, like the “bogatyr” warriors from Russian fables who would fall wounded to the ground, be nourished by mother earth’s juices and rise to fight again. Each one of us absolutely needs to know that there's a place on earth where one can come, strip oneself of all alien and unnecessary and say to the high skies —“it’s me, o Lord!”.

“Do what you can and then whatever happens, happens”. This well-known saying seems to have a universal meaning and yet it is perceived differently on an individual level — what is “doing”, what can one do? The main question is whether you make the wall protecting you from environment — or become an organic part of the wider world. What is the guarantee of your safety — strong walls or a strong understanding of the situation around you? The authors of the project induce you to open your eyes to the reality of the big wider world, even if the comfort of your personal little space clashes with it.

The infinite external is seen in our belonging to the universe — the all-encompassing, never-vanishing energy field, an unbroken chain of generations. Our belonging to the eternal will never let us disappear without a trace. We will ultimately reach our descendants much like the light from the stars that have faded long ago eventually reaches us. The infinite internal is revealed in our boundless possibilities. While we are alive, there are no limits to our mind and imagination, to our love, hope and faith. While we exist, death does not and when it arrives, death is merely the first step on an unknown, truly infinite path. By uniting these two infinities, man becomes equal to the universe.