Kojin wasn’t dreaming of anyone in particular, just a generic “ojisan” (older man) and while it would be easy enough to draw that type of face onto the exterior of a balloon, Me decided to involve the local community in their artistic endeavor.
Setting up an information kiosk on one of Utsunomiya’s busier shopping streets, the artists asked suitable passersby from the neighborhood to submit their names for consideration. Just how many applicants expressed interest in having their face blown up (literally) is not known – as older Japanese men are generally a conservative lot, it couldn’t have been too many.
In the event, only one person was needed and at least one applied so… mission accomplished! The next step was transferring the winning candidate’s likeness onto the surface of a 50-ft tall by 33-ft wide balloon. Using the painstaking technique of pointillism, the trio applied approximately 67,000 dark dots of various sizes to the balloon‘s surface. The process took about two months to complete.
