MACHAS

Festive Magic: Kaz Shirane Tree Installations for Beijing APM Mall

The Christmas tree, one of the most the traditional symbols of the Festive Season, has been reimagined by Kaz Shirane into a sleek, contemporary conception. 

Commissioned by APM Mall and BrandHead, the installation comprised of two trees: a stunning 12-metre high indoor tree in which people can walk and experience the Festive magic like never before, and a decorative 5-metre high outdoor tree.

Located in the centre of Beijing, APM is one of the largest shopping malls in Asia, and it’s a go-to destination for shoppers from around the world. APM mall fell in love with installation artist Kaz Shirane and his breathtaking, large-scale mirror installations, and challenged him to revisit the classic snow-covered pine tree to celebrate the Festive Season in grand style and to create a unique and interactive experience.

Kaz Shirane, supported by Machas in all phases of the project, created two different tree installations, featuring his trademark multi-faceted mirror structures and light effects to design wholly new and unique installations.

The first installation, placed outside the mall, is “based on an elementary idea: light reflection” explains Kaz. “Lighting is essential for the Festive Season. I love geometry and mirrors reflecting light. I wanted to create a tree that would multiply lights: when reflected in the mirrors, a single light bulb suddenly becomes four or eight lights.”

The second installation – Kaz’s largest to date –  is an impressive 12-metre mirrored tree nestled inside the mall. “The idea was to create a prism installation that would look like a Christmas tree. I had created 30 origami tree designs on my computer before I chose one the final design!”

The indoor installation is also accessible to visitors, who are invited to enter the tree and discover a wonderful new dimension, in which their figure and the graphics appearing on LED screen floor create a mesmerising light and colour effect.

Together with the installations, Machas produced a video interview of Kaz, that will be displayed on video walls through the mall. Speaking from his studio in Tokyo, Kaz explains his creative approach to art and in particular to this project.

The installations were unveiled on the 7th December 2018 during an official inauguration event. In front of a packed mall filled with an excited and curious audience, Kaz gave a speech along with the APM Mall’s director and Chinese movie star Xiong Naiqi. The installations won rave reviews amongst the first enthusiastic visitors and will be showcased at Beijing APM Mall for the whole festive season — an unmissable chance to see and experience Kaz Shirane’s magical world.

See more of Kaz’s work here.