Currently installed at the Oita Prefectural Art Museum (OPAM) in Japan are seven large inflatable egg-shaped objects by Dutch designer Marcel Wanders, each with intricate floral motifs designed to remind us of nature’s cycle and the inevitable passing of time.

Marcel Wanders’ Inflatable Eggs

The Eurasian Garden Spirits installation is a contemporary re-interpretation of Vanitas, a 17th-century Dutch painting concept that contains collections of objects symbolic of the inevitability of death and the transience and vanity of earthly achievements and pleasures.

This site-specific installation was influenced by the historical narrative of Dutch explorers first arriving in Japan in the 16th century; this artwork symbolizes the cultural union and exchange between Holland and the Land of the Rising Sun.

Composed of seven inflatable egg-shaped objects with unique flower patterns, Marcel Wanders paid homage to the free-spirited original travellers and the Dutch ideas and their open-minded mentality that have spread across the world.

Reaching five metres in height and filled with air, each balloon is heavy enough to stay grounded in one spot but still manages to sway from side to side; they gently move with the wind. This effect was created thanks to bowl-shaped weights placed on the inflatable objects’ bottom parts.

Looking closely at the artworks, the flower patterns remind us of nature’s cycle and the inevitable passing of time. In addition, Marcel Wanders blended faces with his floral motifs to illustrate the mortality of human beings.

all information and images courtesy of Marcel Wanders