Faced with the crisis of global warming and environmental degradation, we have reached an age when we must think about ecology and sustainability on a global scale. At the same time, movements such as “slow life” and “Lohas” have gained a great following, as people start to pursue less damaging and more spiritually fulfilling lives. In this context, opportunities to think about “nature,” which has always been an integral part of Japanese culture, have become more common. Most recently, the concept of satoyama, the Edo Period idea of a zone existing between the natural and urban environments, is again attracting interest. The Japanese term shizen is what was used to translate the English word, “Nature” back at the end of the 19th century, but the term originally was closer to shinrabansho (the whole of creation) or tenchimanbutsu (everything under the heavens), and encompassed all living organisms included humans. This idea is occasionally contrasted with the Western conception of “nature,” which is considered the antithesis of man and the man-made world. “Nature,” which since the times of the Manyoshu and Genji Monogatari over a thousand years ago has always been in close proximity to the Japanese way of life and creative expression, continued influencing the nation’s arts, through sansuiga ink landscapes and ukiyo-e, through to the postwar period and the 1960s and 1970s artworks such as those by the Mono-ha group, which sought to prioritize natural materials in artistic expression. Meanwhile, in urban centers, where the majority of humans now live, the introduction of the internet since the 1990s has led to a gradual weakening of our attachment to “real” things, and “real” sensations, as opposed to virtual ones. As though to respond to this shift, many contemporary artworks now explore this relationship between the real and the virtual – real experience and imaginary experience. There are also works that use materials and techniques designed to reawaken our sensibility towards natural things, and there are other, performative styles of work that demand actual physical movement from their audience. In “Sensing Nature” we explore exactly how contemporary Japanese creators conceive of “nature,” and how they are making use of it in their practices. 

Kuribayashi Takashi 

Born 1968 in Nagasaki. Kuribayashi graduated from Musashino Art University in 1993 and Kunstakademie Dusseldorf (Germany) in 2002. He has held solo exhibitions at various locations including the Hermes Gallery, Orchard Road, Singapore. He has also participated in several international exhibitions including “Arts Towada” (Towada Art Center, Aomori Prefecture – permanent collection), “Thermocline of Art - New Asian Waves” (ZKM | Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany), “NEW NATURE” (The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand) and “Gardens” (Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Aichi Prefecture). 

Shinoda Taro 

Born 1964 in Tokyo. Resides in Tokyo. Shinoda is known for stunning hand-made mechanical sculptures and installations. Having trained as a landscape gardener, Shinoda has effortlessly adapted his unique sensibility to the environmentally-conscious age. He is interested in the themes of “gardens” and “a new relationship between humans and nature.” He is also adept at keeping focus on both his everyday world and the universe. Shinoda has held solo exhibitions at REDCAT (Los Angeles), Hiroshima City Museum for Contemporary Art and elsewhere. He has participated in numerous international exhibitions, including the Busan Biennale (2006) and Istanbul Biennale (2007). 

Yoshioka Tokujin 

Born 1967. Established Yoshioka Tokujin Design Office after working under Kuramata Shiro and Miyake Issey. Several of his works are in the permanent collections of major museums, including his paper chair, “Honey-pop,” and “ToFU,” the lighting fixture in which he designed light itself. Both are held by the Museum of Modern Art, New York. In 2007 he was named "Designer of the Year” at Design Miami. He has also appeared in television broadcaster NHK's “Purofeshonaru: Shigoto no Ryugi” (The professional’s way of working) and he was selected by the Japanese edition of Newsweek as one of the “100 Japanese who are respected around the world.” 

Curated by: Kataoka Mami (Chief Curator, Mori Art Museum)

Image: Sumpf Land, Photograph, 2008