Oh! Daiba and its Elephants

Posted on May 9, 2007 by Ulara Nakagawa

I kept thinking, eat this Michael Jackson. Soaring into Odaiba,Tokyo aboard the above ground Yurikamome train, was like flying straight into Neverland. What unexpected sights! A giant ship converted into a maritime museum with an accompanying pool, an enormous lit up Ferris wheel, a mini Statue of Liberty. Odaiba is a man-made island that was rebuilt in the early 80’s at a cost of 10 billion with the hopes of it becoming Tokyo’s newest residential hotspot. This was never realized as the economy crashed in the early 90’s, but the futuristic area has seen a recent revival as a tourist hotspot and entertainment hub.

The very best thing in Odaiba right now can be found at The Nomadic Museum where there is an exhibit titled “Ashes and Snow” by Gregory Colbert. Colbert’s black and white photographs and films fit right in with the island’s whimsical feel. Modest in their color and presentation, the pieces are startling and subversive in their subject matter. I recall first seeing a poster advertising the show in RoppongiAn area of Tokyo very famous for its high concentration of nightlife and popularity among the foreign population. , and stopping dead in my tracks; something very unusual considering the overload of flashy sights in this city. The image that struck me so was of a little boy with an open book facing a kneeling elephant. But words can’t do a picture like this justice.

As I sat in the museum, my inner skeptic did speak up a couple of times: “This is STAGED, Ulara. The exhibit brags about showing actual unaltered images but couldn’t you say that they are contrived in their creation? When would leopards and human ever be wading around in a pond together touching hands/paws and reading a book? This is no different than putting a bonnet on a kitten, chucking it in a basket and selling the resulting calendar at a mall kiosk!” However, after awhile the skeptic shut up as I realized I was not being ‘duped’. Rather, if I sat there in wonder, feeling something and appreciating the fine balance between man and ‘beast’ in these volatile times on earth that I could leave more than satisfied. And so it was.