Light Bridge Across the Strait, Japan

Unlike many European countries, educational practices in Korea and Japan rarely incorporate light or illumination as a subject of early childhood learning. The applicant has been conducting research on play environments that explore the aesthetic and scientific dimensions of light and shadow for children. As part of this research, they have developed and implemented the “Block & Light Workshop,” an art-science communication program that enables children to experience the principle that “the quality of light depends on the balance between light source, reflective material, and shielding material.”

This particular event was designed as a cross-cultural workshop for university students studying early childhood education in both countries. The goal was to foster the next generation of educators through collaborative, hands-on learning. The resulting installation, “Light Bridge Across the Strait,” was a symbolic block-and-light sculpture. Students from each country began building from opposite ends of a shared space. As their creations extended toward one another, they eventually met in the center, forming a luminous bridge that represented connection, cooperation, and mutual understanding.

Participants were encouraged not only to appreciate the beauty of light but also to explore why certain lighting feels beautiful and how to create such effects themselves. Using LED lights as the primary light source, they discovered that light alone can be harsh and unappealing. Through experimentation, they learned that beauty emerges when light interacts with materials in thoughtful ways.

To explore this, participants used untreated beechwood blocks as both reflective and shielding materials. By arranging and layering the blocks around the LEDs, they created glowing compositions that revealed light in multiple forms: reflections bouncing off surfaces, beams escaping through gaps, and subtle color gradients formed by combining different LEDs. These tactile explorations allowed students to experience firsthand how light can be shaped, softened, and transformed.

The workshop created a space where participants could share their discoveries with others, fostering a sense of wonder and mutual appreciation. It was not only an artistic endeavor but also an educational one—inviting participants to engage with light as both a material and a metaphor. In doing so, they gained insight into how to design meaningful learning environments for children, where beauty, science, and creativity converge.

This project demonstrates how light can serve as a bridge—not only between materials, but also between cultures, disciplines, and generations. It invites us to see illumination not just as a technical element, but as a poetic force that connects people through shared experience, imagination, and learning.