Rain Room, an immersive environment of pouring water that visitors can walk through without getting wet, has been copied for the third time in China.
An edition of the real installation, by the design collective Random International, was recently shown by the collector Budi Tek at his Yuz Museum in Shanghai. While this display took place, two copies of the work were installed in shopping malls in Shanghai. Meanwhile, another imitation, entitled Rain Zone, recently popped up in Fuzhou, the capital of the southern Fujian Province.
The display of Rain Zone, which ended in January, was initially advertised via a post on Chinese social media WeChat that used photographs and other promotional materials from the original Rain Room. Promoting “a stolen idea…with stolen graphics…is another level of ridiculous,” says Hannes Koch of Random International. The design collective and the Yuz Museum are exploring legal options.
A spokesman for the company that oversaw the installation of the Rain Zone at Shaoyuan One, a retail, office and self-described cultural space in Fuzhou, said that the firm consulted with its lawyers ahead of the project, and believes it is legal because “Rain Zone’s technology is different from Rain Room. We have different sensor technology, lighting, music and background setting.”
