The dune systems between ‘Jinen’ and ‘Tokowaka’.

Life Redune is the host of the work “Regenerative Forest – JINEN” by the Japanese architect Tono Mirai, exhibited as part of the “Time Space Existence” exhibition (21 May-21 November 2021) at the Italian branch of the European Cultural Centre, on the occasion of the Venice Biennale..

To understand the connection between the Life Redune project and art, it is necessary to delve into Japanese philosophy and contemporary art currents.

Jinen is an oriental concept meaning “that which makes itself” and, in Japan, expresses the sensitive relationship between human beings and nature. In other words, nature produces itself without any external force being able to create and develop it, and man must neither neglect nor force nature. Tokowaka, literally “eternally young”, is associated with the concept of regeneration, in the sense of the circularity of life.

Japanese architect Tono Mirai questions the state of current architecture and cities designed primarily in terms of human rationality. His aim is to create urban spaces by learning about the earth and the climate, using local materials, traditional techniques and craftsmen, thus contributing to and preserving the balance of nature.

Tono Mirai’s installation currently exhibited in Venice and entitled “Regenerative Forest – JINEN”is the expression of a circular process that stems from the knowledge of Venice and its lagoon and through a shared creation, experiences the changes in nature and then degrades and is returned to the earth as a material for new creations.

The plants used in the Jinen opera garden are native species typical of the Veneto dunes. They are plants produced for the REDUNE project, which will spend the summer alongside the work and which, with a view to reusing all the materials in the work, will subsequently be transplanted to one of the REDUNE project sites at the end of the exhibition.

Credits: photos by Silvia Felli