To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Fukuoka Art Museum, which completed refurbishment in 2019, aimed at making the venue more accessible to everyone, a new, huge outdoor monument entitled Wind Sculpture (SG) II has been installed.

The opening ceremony on 1st July 2021 unveiled the sculpture to the public.

The seven-meter high, 2.5-meter wide, and 2-meter deep sculpture has been installed at the approach from Ohori Park.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony at the opening

It was in the midst of the rainy season, but it was a clear day as if they were celebrating the commemorative event. The sculpture was shining in the beautiful weather.

The design of Wind Sculpture (SG) II is based on African print patterns preserved at the museum. The monument, shaped like a waving flag in the wind, represents exchange or diversity, and seems to reflect the city itself, heading for the next stage while accepting multiplicity.

The artwork is by British-Nigerian contemporary artist Yinka Shonibare CBE who celebrated the museum’s reopening in 2019 with his own individual exhibition, called “Yinka Shonibare CBE: Flower Power.”

Yinka Shonibare CBE visited Fukuoka in 2019 at the opening of the exhibition “Yinka Shonibare CBE: Flower Power” (Photo by Yamanaka Shintaro, Qsyum！）

The first series of Wind Sculpture is made up of nine works with different colours and patterns. It has developed into a more complicated design known as the Wind Sculpture (SG) showing a flag in the wind. SG stands for Second Generation, and its second work is the one currently installed at the Fukuoka Art Museum.

To create Wind Sculpture (SG) II Shonibare chose “African print,” the fabric that Fukuoka Art Museum possesses. Japanese-made “African print” was used for the Wind Sculpture series for the first time, symbolizing the history and future of multicultural exchange crossing oceans between Japan, other Asian countries, Europe, and Africa.

The African print fabrics were products made and exported to Africa from 1928 to the 1990’s by a trade company Nishizawa Limited. The collection of “African print” at Fukuoka Art Museum consisting of 28 works (79 patterns) was donated by Nishizawa Limited.

“Plant Pattern, Super Wax Print” 1993, designed by Nishizawa Limited, manufactured by Sanyo Senko Co., Ltd., Fukuoka Art Museum collection

“Wind Ohori,” an iconic dessert menu exclusive to the museum café, celebrates the new monument. Please enjoy the appearance of vanilla soft ice cream with colourful chocolate.

Visit and see the new Wind Sculpture (SG) II, the new symbolic monument of Fukuoka Art Museum.