Okay, now this is my kind of math! “Forest of Numbers” (2017) is the work of Emmanuelle Moureaux, a French architect living in Tokyo. This is just one of many absolutely breathtaking, colorful, all-consuming installations she has created. Emmanuelle is “inspired by the layers and colors of Tokyo that built a complex depth and density on the street, and the Japanese traditional spatial elements like sliding screens, she has created the concept of shikiri, which literally means ‘dividing (creating) space with colors’.” Well, that is exactly what she did with this 2017 installation at The National Art Center, Tokyo. Here is the description from her site:

“The installation “Forest of Numbers” (2017) visualized the decade of the future from 2017 to 2026, created a sense of stillness across the large exhibition space. More than 60,000 pieces of suspended numeral figures from 0 to 9 were regularly aligned in three dimensional grids. A section was removed, created a path that cut through the installation, invited visitors to wonder inside the colorful forest filled with numbers. The installation was composed of 10 layers which is the representation of 10 years time. Each layer employed 4 digits to express the relevant year such as 2, 0, 1, and 7 for 2017, which were randomly positioned on the grids. As part of Emmanuelle’s “100 colors” installation series, the layers of time were colored in 100 shades of colors, created a colorful time travel through the forest.

Inside the colorful forest, two girls and one cat were lost inside, added playfulness to the installation. In concert with the installation, the compilation of exhibition posters from the last ten years filled the wall on the right, and the opposite wall across the room simply expressed the next ten years with white numbers. Because photography was exceptionally allowed, the installation has spread through various social networks, increasing number of visitors. This installation was created with the cooperation of 300 volunteers, excited the attention of over 20,000 visitors in 10 days.”

Ahhh, to be lost in a rainbow-hued forest of numbers, searching for that little pink cat. Stunning.