Art Collective Mé Transforms Beppu Home into Cavernous Installation

In December 2025, the Tokyo-based art group Mé unveiled a new architectural intervention in Kanawa, a historic district of Beppu City known for its geothermal springs. The collective altered a two-story residential building by creating large openings in its exterior walls. Inside, rather than conventional domestic spaces, visitors encounter a vast subterranean-like environment. This project, titled "space II," represents the second entry in Mé's series that modifies ordinary Japanese houses. Their initial work in this sequence occurred in 2020, when they inserted a white cube gallery space into a home in northern Japan. Founded in 2013, Mé is recognized for creating surreal installations that challenge perceptual norms, with past works including a massive floating head balloon over Tokyo and a wave-inspired museum sculpture. The Beppu installation draws inspiration from the area's extreme geothermal features, locally termed "hells," and their historical transformation into therapeutic hot spring resorts. Mé's website will start accepting visitor reservations for the site in January 2026.