Two New Art installations by internationally renowned artist Bruce Munro are added to Mountain Lights in July 2024 in Niseko, Hokkaido
The expanding world of Mountain Lights - with vibrant color and sound…
From July 1, 2024, the Mountain Lights exhibition at Niseko Hanazono Resort (Hanazono), is back bigger and better than ever with two new spectacular works, ‘Moon Blooms’ and ‘Prismatic Spring’. Mountain Lights is the creation of the internationally acclaimed artist Bruce Munro (see artist profile below). This season marks the third year of the exhibition, the only place in Japan where Bruce Munro’s work has been on view.
Mountain Lights Official Movie
Mountain Lights is an immersive outdoor artwork that covers the ski slopes of Hanazono. Thousands of gently glowing firefly sculptures will blend in and illuminate the summer landscape with a total of 180,000 individual points of light. The 180,000 points of light transform into a 1.3 km long ribbon of light, illuminating the foot of Mount Niseko Annupuri. Draped in gentle gleam just like real fireflies, Hanazono's fireflies embrace the surroundings, gently captured by the summer breezes of Niseko.
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Moon Blooms
The first iteration Mountain Lights was inspired by topography, geology, mythology and a pinch of artistic licence. ‘Moon Blooms’ is a new colourful addition to the beginning of the installation. The 1,000 colour changing Moon Blooms evoke reminiscences of the snow that covers the Hanazono landscape for much of the year. Just as plants that wait patiently under the snow, and sprout with the arrival of spring, the addition of color to a previously monochromatic work makes the beginning of a new chapter even more spectacular
and vibrant.
‘Moon Blooms’ is an iteration of the Field of Light, a work that embodies Bruce's experiences during his visit to the Australian World Heritage Site of Uluru. Field of Light has been successfully held in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Denmark, Korea, and other countries around the world.
Finally, an ethereal choral soundtrack, inspired by the changing light of a day, complements the illuminations of the installation.
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Prismatic Spring
The second addition to Mountain Lights consists of sixty nine tree-like colour changing clusters of suspended orchid fireflies. Like a mountain stream, the elements are constant but in this instance the fireflies are suspended and colourful to draw visitors focus from the ground to the heavens.
Mountain Lights - a majestic light walkway stretching under the sky of Niseko, Hokkaido, where countless stars twinkle in the sky. Discover a world of unparalleled immersive experiences interwoven with the richness of nature and light that can only be encountered in Niseko.
Mountain Lights is proudly presented by Nihon Harmony Resorts KK in collaboration with Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono. The art installation will be open during the summer and autumn months of 2024.
Collaboration Event 'Mountain Lights and Fire Goddess Performance'
A fire performance ‘Mountain Lights and Fire Goddess Performance’ will be held in conjunction with the Mountain Lights exhibition. Come and enjoy the unique and miraculous synchronized session of the sound of Mukkuri, a traditional instrument of the Ainu people, echoing through the Hanazono forest, the collaboration of fire dances and fireworks performed to the mu-sic, and the dance of the Ainu sword covered with flames.
Event Information
Period: July 13, August 17, September 15 and 21
Price: Admission is free, Mountain Lights admission tickets are required to view the performance up close.
The experience
The Mountain Lights experience commences with a ride up Hanazono’s 10-person gondola. Visitors have spectacular views of the entire artwork while traveling to the very top of the installation, and panoramic views of the surrounding Niseko landscape and the mountain range stretching to Yoichi and Sapporo, so visible on bright moonlit nights. Stepping out of the gondola cabins, visitors will walk slowly through the lights, communing ntimately with them, with the atmosphere and with nature.
The Mountain Lights Inspiration
Bruce Munro's artwork is inspired by the ‘shared human experience’ that has been a large interest of his for decades. Interactions with fire have brought light, warmth, and other benefits to humans since ancient times, and we have shared its mysterious brightness with others. The Ainu people, the indigenous people of Hokkaido, regard fire as a maternal goddess and mediator, while in distant Australia, Aboriginal people also express their compassion for others through fire. The light produced by electricity is considered a modern formation of ‘fire’ and Mountain Lights embodies the ‘shared human experience’ through fire. The warmth and compassion shared through fire are incorporated into Mountain Lights.
Bruce Munro
British artist Bruce Munro’s monumental light installations have traveled across the world. In 2019, his Field of Light at Sensorio” in Paso Robles, California, attracted the attention of the world. The New York Times described his artwork as ‘There is nothing quite like the mind-bending spectacle now on display at dusk in the hills of Paso Robles, a popular wine destination. That is, the witching hour when thousands of solar-powered glass orbs on stems, created by the artist Bruce Munro, enfold visitors in an ‘earthbound aurora borealis of shifting hues’.
Bruce is best known for immersive large-scale light-based installation inspired largely by his interest in shared human experience. Recording his ideas and images in sketchbooks has been his practice for over 30 years. By this means he has captured his responses to stimuli such as music, literature, science and the world around for reference, reflection and subject matter. This tendency has been combined with a liking for components and an inventive urge for reuse, coupled with career training in the manufacture of light. As a result Munro produces both monumental experiential artworks as well an intimate story pieces.
Niseko Hanazono Resort
Located on Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido, Niseko is coveted as one of the largest combined resort areas in Japan, producing some of the lightest and driest snow on the planet. The Niseko Hanazono Resort is one of the 4 resort areas of Niseko, offering spectacular skiing for all abilities, luxurious ski-in/ski-out accommodation, extraordinary culinary experiences and a full complement of guest services and activities.
In December 2021 Hanazono opened a brand new 6-seat detachable hooded chairlift with heated seats, and a 10-seat gondola with cabins designed by Italy’s Pininfarina, to provide luxurious additional uphill capacity, as well as night-skiing.
In green season, blessed with a cooler climate, the resort offers of water activities such as white-water rafting, stand-up paddle boarding and kayaking, as well as tree trekking, cycling and golf. During the summer of 2022, Hanazono ZipFlight commenced operations with the unveiling of one of the world’s longest zipline networks and Asia’s longest zipline.
Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono
Set in a spectacular natural landscape with stunning views across the Annupuri ranges and Mount Yotei, Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono embodies personal luxury for global connoisseurs. A true year-round mountain resort with spaces and guestrooms designed for enriching experiences in an environment of carefully curated art, cuisine and contemporary design.
Park Hyatt hotels provide discerning, global travelers with a refined home-away-fromhome. Guests of Park Hyatt hotels receive quietly confident and personalized service in an enriching environment. Located in several of the world's premier destinations, each Park Hyatt hotel is custom designed to combine sophistication with understated luxury. Park Hyatt hotels feature well-appointed guestrooms, world-renowned artwork and design, rare and immersive culinary experiences, and signature restaurants featuring
award-winning chefs. There are currently 45 Park Hyatt hotels globally.
