See Super Wall Art Tokyo’s giant murals transform two Tokyo skyscrapers

Mimi redesigned the 3,371sqm glass façade of the Marunouchi Building. Her artwork, measuring 24m in width and 122m in length, is based on ignis (Latin for fire) and features a playful design with a variety of animal, flower and angel motifs.

When Mimi started working on the design, long before the global coronavirus pandemic, the ‘fire’ was intended to symbolise power and enthusiasm. However, in light of recent events, the fire's meaning has changed to be about purification, healing and the power to overcome difficulties. The artist says she ‘hopes that when visitors look up to the artwork towards the sky, it will reflect wishes and prayers in their hearts, and that the “fire” turns into a prayer that contains love and peace for the world.’ 

In contrast to Mimi’s fire theme, Tadanori based his work on aqua (water). The design on the 4,381sqm façade of the Shin-Marunouchi Building is made up of different images of waterfalls, selected from a total of 16,000 postcards from all around the world. Each postcard has been enlarged significantly to make a mural covering the 36m wide, 113m large glass canvas.

Tadanori was part of the design team of the Tokyo 1964 Summer Olympics, giving this project a connection with Tokyo’s first Olympics. As urbanisation progresses and landscapes become more and more artificial, the artist says he ‘hopes that by exhibiting nature in this way, people will appreciate nature again.’ Tadanori recommends visiting during the afternoon, when the lighting gives the best visibility for the artwork.

Pro tip: if you look closely you can even spot an artwork by Mimi inside Tadanori’s work.