Arc Zero – Nimbus

A 6 meter ring of mist encircles a foot bridge, not only inviting people to walk through, but requiring them to do so as they approach Hotokizaki Kanon-Ji Temple. The experience is like walking through a portal, crossing a threshold into a new, cleansed state of mind.

The water for the work is pumped directly from the river that flows rapidly under the bridge, filtered, and pushed through fine nozzles arrayed around the structure. The source of the river itself is nearby, up in the mountains where the snow is still melting. The shape of the work represents the cyclical journey of the water, through all states, down the mountain, and back up again as evaporated mist.

During the day the mist works with the ambient site conditions to produce crepuscular light rays through the trees and rainbows around the viewer, while in the darker hours the mist is illuminated from lighting embedded within the structure. Two layers of LED strip tuned at slightly different colour temperatures give the cloud of mist an added textural quality as it billows from the ring.

Part engineered and fabricated by Tokyo based company, Technocore, who specialize in rain and mist systems, the work was able to be integrated into the site with elegance, and a minimum of structural support.