Laputa

“Hayao Miyazaki's 1986 animated film, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, is one of my favorite childhood films. The backgrounds in his films have always fascinated me, this work is inspired by the setting of Laputa, particularly the way the ruins were created.”

The floating island of Laputa, characterized by its prominent ancient aura, is brimming with a city of houses, chimneys and mills that hang on ravine walls. Here, Rua develops her own interpretation of this iconic island, maintaining the depth and detail that these environments were first created with. A ravine structure levitates amidst a deep blue sky. The sprawling structure finds a dead end at the top and left of the composition, a decision that was made in response to the film’s final scene, where the floating castle’s rocks begin to break down and fall.