A new projection mapping work based on art by four artists from HERALBONY (ヘラルボニー) will be screened on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building from Friday, November 20, 2026. Titled Expanding distinctiveness (拡張する異彩), the video was produced by the digital art production company C& (シーエンド) for "TOKYO Night & Light," the projection mapping program on the building that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government presents as nighttime tourism content for Tokyo.
The work pairs colorful, powerful artworks with the visual effects unique to projection mapping, expressing each artist's individuality and new appeal on the wall of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.
About the Work
- Title: Expanding distinctiveness (拡張する異彩)
- Screening start date: Friday, November 20, 2026
Highlights
Art born from the rich sensibility of each artist spreads across the walls of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building through light and video.
Artistic expression such as vivid colors and original brushwork is combined with the three-dimensional, dynamic staging that only projection mapping can offer, bringing out new appeal in the artworks. Visitors can enjoy a video work in which each artist's individuality spreads dynamically across the large wall of the building.
Screening Times in November
- Weekdays: 5:30 PM / 6:30 PM
- Weekends and holidays: 5:30 PM / 6:00 PM
Screening times from December onward can be checked on the official website. Projection mapping also shows other works at times other than those listed above.
Behind the Work: Comments From the Director
The director of the work, 田中 葵 of C&, explains the thinking behind the video.
Under HERALBONY's mission 「異彩を、放て。」 (literally, "radiate distinctive brilliance"), the title Expanding distinctiveness (拡張する異彩) carries the meaning of releasing the distinctiveness (異彩) born from the artists beyond the canvas.
Part of this video uses footage generated with generative AI. Starting from the colors, shapes and brushwork the artists drew, generative AI extends their worlds into video. By layering human direction with AI generation, the depth and movement hidden in the flat surfaces are developed into new forms, translating HERALBONY's world into video without breaking it. The music was also set to a slow tempo, with the hope that viewers will take time to appreciate the paintings.
A single painting holds room for imagination: not only the forms and colors depicted, but also the space, time and movement that extend beyond them. According to the director, generative AI gives new power to bring out this potential within paintings as video and to develop them from flat surfaces into three-dimensional spatial expression.
Through repeated generation, selection, re-editing and processing, the footage was reconstructed into video that does not compromise the colors, brushwork and rhythm of the original paintings. By using AI not as "an entity that creates the work" but as a new video production method that connects the artists' expression and the space, the team expanded the experience from "seeing" a painting to "entering" its world.
The director notes that we have entered an era when simply watching 3D video no longer surprises people. At this turning point in video production, the team created this video believing that partially using generative AI as a new form of expression to extend paintings will be a new challenge.
About "TOKYO Night & Light" at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
- Dates: Screened daily except in severe weather and similar conditions
- Projection surface: East wall of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building No. 1 (東京都庁第一本庁舎)
- Viewing location: Tomin Plaza (都民広場), 2-8-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
- Screening times: 5:30 PM / 6:00 PM / 6:30 PM / 7:00 PM / 7:30 PM / 8:00 PM / 8:30 PM / 9:00 PM / 9:30 PM (each screening runs about 15 minutes; see the official website for the detailed schedule)
- Official website: https://tokyoprojectionmappingproject.jp
- Organizers: Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo Projection Mapping Executive Committee (東京プロジェクションマッピング実行委員会)
