"Benesse Art Site Naoshima - Archive series" takes a look back through the records of Benesse Art Site Naoshima, the art project founded in the 1980s. In this 2nd installment, we will be introducing the Naoshima Bath "I♥︎湯" (I Love Yu), which opened in July 2009 and was designed by Shinro Ohtake.

The Naoshima Bath "I♥湯" is an art facility that visitors can actually bathe in. It houses all sorts of objects collected by Ohtake from all over Japan, collaged inside and outside the building. The image above shows the elephant art piece with a particularly strong presence being installed in the bathhouse.

This elephant was originally exhibited at the Hihokan in Jozankei, Hokkaido, with its name, Sadako, stemming from the characters of Jozankei. More than 10 years before the Naoshima Bathhouse project began, Mr. Otake met Sadako when he traveled to Hokkaido. He was charmed by its realistic appearance, which resembled an actual living elephant. Ohtake was eventually reunited with Sadako and decided to put it in Naoshima Bath after knowing that the Hihokan closed down while his project was in progress. After examining various layout plans (such as placing it in the entrance), he decided to install it on top of the partition wall in the bathroom's center. This allowed it to be seen from both the men's and women's baths. In June 2009, Sadako was carried by a crane, floating high and passing through the bathhouse's ceiling, eventually landing in its current position.

Ohtake designed this project as an art piece where one can actually bathe in. He envisioned it as a bathhouse that would act as a source of vitality for the locals and promote interaction between the islanders and visitors coming from both inside and outside the country. To this end, he sought something both the islanders and visitors could easily get attached to, something easy to understand. This led to Ohtake's decision to install the elephant Sadako.

Naoshima Bathhouse "I♥︎湯" (I Love Yu) is also featured in the October 2018 issue of Benesse Art Site Naoshima Public Relations Magazine. Please be sure to check it out.