TeaHouse
In 2003, the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History invited Wendy Maruyama and fellow artist Marc D’Estout to participate in the exhibition Gimmee Shelter. Having long admired the contemplative and architectural qualities of traditional Japanese tea spaces, Maruyama used the opportunity to create a full-scale tea room installation.
The structure was designed as a five-mat tea room complete with a tokonoma alcove and sliding doors. Its surfaces were covered with large-format digital collages that combined imagery drawn from throughout the “Turning Japanese” series. Maruyama also designed custom plastic laminate panels featuring octopus and bamboo motifs, which were fabricated by Wilsonart®.
Blending traditional Japanese architectural forms with contemporary materials and digitally manipulated imagery, the installation transformed the tea room into an immersive environment that moved between reverence, parody, cultural memory, and popular culture.
