Playscape is one of many sculptures for playgrounds that American-Japanese artist Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) intentionally designed (but rarely realised) for children to climb on and play around. A selection of these sculptures are displayed on the M+ museum’s rooftop. The stepped concrete form of Playscape, looking more pyramid than rectangle, comprises blocks and in-between voids. There is an element of risk if jumping across one block to another; the gap is slightly more hazardous than safe, and a missed jump could result in a six-metre fall to ground. But, no-one falls.
The M+ rooftop, lobby, Mediatheque of videos to watch, and the basement Found Space are all free entry within the non-payment areas of the museum. Consequently, the rooftop has become a favoured spot for wedding photography, including for couples travelling from the mainland. The rooftop offers contrasting scenes. Bisected into two halves by the tall inverted ‘T’ of the building’s large LED screen, the ‘front’ – the Victoria Harbour side – of the rooftop has magnificent waterfront views looking towards Hong Kong island and its famous skyline. The ‘back’ view, in which Noguchi’s sculpture is placed, has excellent views towards the Palace Museum, Stonecutter’s island, the West Kowloon docks and shipping, Kowloon peninsula and Lantau island in the distance. This view is better experienced atop Noguchi’s Playscape.
Wedding parties bring an ephemeral dynamic to Noguchi’s sculpture. Not out of place as a minimalist ballet stage design, this photograph captures bridesmaids flowing around and over the sculpture as photographers position themselves to photograph the partly-hidden bride and fully-hidden groom. In reverse of the photo-shoot’s intention, bridesmaids and photographers take the limelight.
Complementing Noguchi’s rooftop sculpture is Danh Vo in Situ: Akari by Noguchi, currently showingin the museum’s Found Space. This is a beautiful exhibition of designed structures by Vietnamese artist Danh Vo (born 1975) in which a selection of Noguchi’s Akari lamps or “light sculptures” are hung and displayed. The exhibition, however, has an almost opposite intention from Playscape, that encourages play and activity. According to the museum’s description, Danh Vo “…will transform the Found Space into an intimate social environment in which visitors can slow down and spend time.”
John Batten：幾位伴娘和攝影師為一對新人在野口勇《Playscape》 雕塑前拍照。M+屋頂花園，西九龍，香港，2023年2月12日。
《Playscape》是美籍日裔藝術家野口勇（1904-1988年）特意為兒童設計的眾多遊樂場雕塑之一（但這些設計很少得以實現），原意讓孩子們在上面攀爬玩耍。M+博物館的天台花園展出了部分這些雕塑作品。其中的《Playscape》為階梯狀混凝土造型，看起來像金字塔而非長方形。作品由方塊組成，當中留有空隙。如果從一個方塊跳到另一個，會有點危險，因為兩者之間的間隙略大於安全距離，萬一失足，就會從六米高的地方摔下去。不過，沒有人真摔下來過。
M+博物館的天台、大堂、可供觀看錄像的多媒體中心，以及地下的「潛空間」，均屬於博物館的免費開放區域，可免費進入。因此，天台便成了拍攝婚紗照的熱門地點，其中不乏從中國大陸專程趕來的新人。天台的景致多樣，相映成趣。高大的倒「T」字形巨型LED螢幕，將天台一分為二。天台「正面」，即面向維多利亞港的一面，能欣賞到壯麗的海濱風光，一覽香港島及其著名的天際線。而野口勇雕塑所在的「背面」則可以遠眺故宮文化博物館、昂船洲、西九龍船塢和船隻、九龍半島，以及遠處的大嶼山等絕佳景致。站在野口勇的《Playscape》雕塑上觀看，景致更佳。
新郎新娘等人為野口勇的雕塑帶來一股瞬間的動感。雕塑如同極簡主義芭蕾舞台的佈景，毫無違和感。這張照片捕捉到了伴娘在雕塑周圍環繞並攀爬其上的身影，而攝影師們則各自找理想機位，來拍攝部分被遮擋的新娘和完全被擋住的新郎。倒轉拍攝意圖，伴娘和攝影師成了焦點。
與野口勇的天臺雕塑相呼應的是越南裔藝術家傅丹（1975年生）的展覽《傅丹創意現場：野口勇的「光」》，目前正在M+「潛空間」展出。這個由傅丹打造的精美裝置藝術展中，懸掛並展示了一些野口勇設計的 「Akari」 燈，也稱之為 「光雕塑」。然而，該展覽的意圖與《Playscape》幾乎截然相反。《Playscape》鼓勵觀者嬉戲與活動；而根據博物館的描述，傅丹「將『潛空間』轉化為一個親密的社交環境，讓觀者可以放慢節奏，享受時光。」