Come for the Art, Stay for the Bento. ‘Symbiosis: Living Island’ @ Japan House
Just off the coast of Okayama, Japan, in the bosom of the mild Seto Inland Sea, sits a pocket-sized island with a lush, Mediterranean-esque vista and an even lusher art landscape. Inujima has a population of 47 and a circumference of 3.5 kilometres. To walk its perimeter takes just an hour, a necessary convenience as the island has no cars. Along the way, one encounters quiet gardens, affectionate locals, and five contemporary art houses designed by the 2009 Serpentine Pavilion’s architect Kazuyo Sejima, who sought to achieve equilibrium on the island between art and the natural environment. And before you ask–yes, there’s even a café.
Standing on Kensington’s clamorous High Street, it’s hard to imagine such a haven or that one could be transported there in a matter of moments–but peering into the window of Japan House you see a portal to a world far from the busy London ruckus. Delivering material culture through food, retail, and art, this cultural centre has an exhibition space, curated library, shop, and Japanese-style afternoon tea with optional sake. Not unexpectedly, once you’re here, it’s hard to leave.
Beatriz Milhazes, Yellow Flower Dream (part, replica), 2018. Photo courtesy of Japan House London.
The ground floor gallery is a mix of installation and retail, blurring the lines (quite intentionally) between art and commerce. The focal point is a colourful glass booth–a signpost of the current exhibition. Up the staircase is Akira, a restaurant serving lunch and dinner where guests experience traditional omotenashi hospitality, dining on anything from bento boxes to a full-on omakase.
Down the stairs is the exhibition, curated by Hasegawa Yūko, where guests are invited to “step onto the island” via a walkable scaled diorama of Inujima, described in Japanese as a genkai shuraku, or border hamlet, in danger of disappearing due to depopulation and ageing residents. Before entering the open-plan space, assuaging sounds of whistling birds, calm winds, and the tranquil buzz of Komuta Yusuke’s kinetic sculpture, Reverse, waft through the gallery. With each step, the chaos of the city outside fades further into the distance.
Komuta Yusuke, Reverse, 2014-2021. PVC, stainless, wood, motor, 200 x 34 x 34 cm. Photo courtesy of Japan House London.
A five-minute ferry ride from the mainland, Inujima is both gloriously detached and easily accessible, with a ribbon of sandy beaches. The exhibition explores the Inujima ‘Art House Project,’ a regeneration plan that has slowly been transforming the island over the course of the past 13 years to address the population problem. The project fosters coexistence between Inujima’s natural beauty and the development of art, architecture, successive employment opportunities for local residents, and the solidification of Inujima’s future.
Inujima’s swimming beach.
Abandoned smokestacks that dwarf the surrounding natural landscape are reminders of the island’s industrial past. Formerly host to a copper refinery and a stone quarry, Inujima’s main business is now tourism. The refinery was converted into the Inujima Seirensho Art Museum, an eco-building with a gallery that is mostly underground and blends into the ruins. The space below is moderated by the natural elements for internal light and temperature, existing in quiet symbiosis with the environment.
Yukinori Yanagi and Hiroshi Sambuichi, Seirensho Art Museum, 2008.
The ongoing regeneration invokes pressing questions about post-industrial ruination, capitalist obsession with metropolitan efficiency, and global disparities between urban and rural areas–not to mention what this does to the health and well-being of a society and its daily confrontations. The rediscovery of Inujima and heightened engagement and appreciation from the outside world have also had a profound psychic effect on the island’s small but resolute population.
“I think the people part of it is the key. They’re proud of their cultural heritage and they want to talk to people about it and it gives them the opportunity to do so when they otherwise wouldn’t have had. When they’ve got visitors coming and they talk to them about the island and about the pieces of art, as well as the cultural history of the island, it gives them a real boost. They get really excited by it and you can see them visibly change and smile. In terms of their mental well-being, you can see a really big impact. As much as it being a regeneration project physically and with the landscape, it’s very much about the people and bringing life to them as well–it’s nourishing.”
Symbiosis, 2021. Directed by Inada Yoshihiro, Produced by Hasegawa Yuko. Director of Photography: Inada Yoshihiro. Drone Operated by Kurosawa Seiha, Production Manager: Watanabe Iku. Courtesy of the Fukutake Foundation. Photo courtesy of Japan House London.
The term ‘symbiosis’ refers to the recurring interaction between nature and architectural intervention. All elements on the island–whether they are structures, paths, artworks, plants, or people–are inextricably linked. Over the past four years, the project has continued to expand to include a greenhouse and botanical Life Garden. It’s not a conventional botanical garden, but rather a place where island residents practice self-reliance in food production and share the process with visitors.
Kazuyo Sejima & Associates Office of Ryue Nishizawa, Inujima Diorama. Photo courtesy of Japan House London.
Dotted around the exhibition are numerous video works depicting life on the island, as well as documentation of various workshops on offer. The workshops engage beyond the artistic into the botanical and offer lessons from locals for visitors to experience the power of plants. While learning about food and energy, they can feel the cycles of nature and envision a lifestyle in tandem with sustainability.
Tetsuo Kondo Architects (Architecture) and Kazuyo Sejima & Associates (Furniture), Hoppy Bar, 2018-2018. A small unoccupied house and the vacant lot next to it, located by the main street, were renovated to become a bar. The bar serves drinks with Hoppy (a beer-flavoured, nearly non-alcoholic beverage). The bar was conceived as a space for relaxed interaction between visitors and residents. Photo courtesy of Japan House London.
Other workshops are organised to teach participants how to recycle and recover waste, as well as how to live rhythmically in accordance with the four seasons. All the gardens are ecologically conceived, featuring composting dry toilets and an outdoor kitchen with natural wastewater filtration. Although the purpose is to facilitate the island as a platform for art, the residents are at its heart and a broader vision to demonstrate to the rest of the world: “symbiosis as a blueprint for the future.”
Kazuyo Sejima & Associates, F-Art House, 2008-2010. Occupied by Nawa Kohei, Biota, 2013. The title refers to to an ecological term used to designate a set of living beings - either flora or fauna - that inhabit, or have inhabited, a particular environment. Photo courtesy of Japan House London.
The story of Inujima and its use of art as a bridge between the built environment and the natural world sets an admirable precedent for the future of cultural and urban development. Perhaps not every cultural district is set against the backdrop of an idyllic seaside enclave, but the quest for harmony lies at the heart of a global desire to strengthen local economies, create an augmented sense of place, and expand local as well as regional cultural capacity.
A map of Imujima, which was named after a rock resembling a sitting dog (inu) Photo by Camille Moreno.
Symbiosis: Living Island is on view from 21 May through 4 September 2022 at Japan House London in Kensington. Book free tickets here.
Camille Moreno
Features Co-Editor, MADE IN BED