Japanese designer Yasuhiro Suziki has created a unique boat shaped like a giant zipper puller that looks like it’s opening up the water when sailing.

Unveiled as part of the Designart Tokyo 2020 event, the zipper puller boat – officially known as ‘Zipper Fastener Ship’ – is the brain child of Japanese designer Yasuhiro Suzuki, who claims it was the result of a simple observation. He was looking down from the window of an airplane and saw a ship sailing through Tokyo Bay; the movement of the water as the boat passed created the illusion of a zipper splitting the water, just like one opens a jacket, so he decided to create a literal representation of this illusion.

Photo: sumiyume.jp

The motorized zipper boat measures 9 meters in length and consists of a chrome-colored body, bridge, and a puller that completes the zipper look. It was the centerpiece of an artistic installation titled “Opening the River”, which saw the boat travel between Azumabashi and Sakurabashi, on the Sumida River, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 8.

Photo: sumiyume.jp

“If you look at the gently flowing Sumida River, you can see the swaying water that changes its shape due to the splash of waves that the ship has set up on the sparkling water surface that reflects the sky. As the ‘Fastener Ship’ sails, we will bring out and convey the various expressions of water that lurks around us,” the artistic event page reads.

Photo: sumiyume.jp

Interestingly, Suzuki first made a scale model of the zipper boat back in 2016, with the real thing making its debut in 2010. It made a comeback over the past few weeks as part of Designart 2020, and once again attracted international attention.