Ogijima Wall Alley by Rikuji Makabe is something that takes all day to discover. The artwork is scattered throughout the main village of Ogijima and it is a bunch of boards with painted patterns on them. The colours range from green to red with a few blues as well. As you walk around Ogicho, the main town, you will eventually run into these boards. Mr. Makabe was given a lot of places to install his art and it all becomes an Easter egg hunt to find all of them.
ogijima wallalley
ogijima wallalley (Near ONBA FACTORY)
While you don’t have to go searching for Wall Alley, my first trip to Ogijima in 2013 meant that I had to find them all. I felt like I was searching for rare Pokemon. In 2016, I didn’t have that urge but I was still interested in seeing the art. I wanted to know how well the art weathered in 3 years and if it was as interesting as I had remembered. While I was used to the artwork a lot more now, I was still amazed at how it just pops up out of nowhere. I would be walking along one of the side streets, and even though I had been up and down those very streets just minutes earlier, I was surprised when I saw some of Rikuji Makabe’s boards.
ogijima wallalley (Near Akinorium)
ogijima wallalley (Near ONBA FACTORY)
Ogijima Wall Alley is an artwork that is nearly invisible if you don’t know what to look for. It is also very obvious if you are looking for it. It blends in naturally with the town and that is why I like it a lot. It is very playful and loves to be photographed, but it can be difficult to get good photos due to the small streets. Keep an eye out and enjoy the art as much as you can.
ogijima wallalley
ogijima wallalley (2013)
ogijima wallalley (2013)
ogijima wallalley (2013)
ogijima wallalley (2013)
Information
- Project for wall painting in lane, ogijma wallalley (Official Setouchi Triennale Site)
- Rikuji Makabe (Official Site)
- Rikuji Makabe (Official Blog – Japanese Only)
- Rikuji Makabe (Official Facebook Page)
- Rikuji Makabe (BASE GALLERY)
I love myself some Wallalley online once in a while. 😉
I want to tell where to find them all, but it’s a dangerous exercise, as I run the risk to forget some. 😉
So let’s see:
– Under Onba Factory (on and around the building that used to be the post office back in the old days)
– Next to Kawashima & Dream Friends Gallery.
– On the same “block” as Akinorium.
– On the houses, on the side of Toyotama-hime-jinja.
– On Kiba-san’s house (a bit more downhill from the shrine).
I think I listed them all… Maybe… 😉
Also, you’ve been wondering how well the art has been weathering. The answer is very well. But there is a trick: Makabe-san returns to the island once in a while to give them from fresh strokes of paint. Actually, the last time was a couple of months ago, when I realized that some of the colors had changed on some of the walls. 🙂
I need to consult my guidebook to know where all of the locations are, or were. Do they ever move them?
I was wondering that weathering bit till I saw your post a little while ago. Talk about timing. Then again, I haven’t looked at this post for a couple years now, so it is kinda dated…
The locations don’t move. They’re “hardwired” to the walls. When they are repainted, it’s being done directly on the wall, they’re not removed. 🙂
I assumed so, but you never know. Remove some of the boards and change it up. Or just play hide and seek with the artwork. 😉