Hara Chikei | Inujima 'Art House Project'
The Inujima 'Art House Project' transforms abandoned houses and vacant lots on the Seto Inland Sea island into contemporary art exhibition spaces for regional revitalization.Summary
Inujima, a small island in the Seto Inland Sea once prosperous from granite quarrying and copper smelting, is being revitalized through an art project led by the Fukutake Foundation, converting vacant homes and lots into spaces where landscape preservation, regional regeneration, and visitors coexist. The 'Art House Project' (starting 2010), directed by Yuko Hasegawa and Kazuyo Sejima, integrates contemporary art into the residential areas, creating a new landscape where daily life intersects with modern art. Examples include the transparent pavilion 'S-House' featuring Mika Rottenberg's 'Contact Lens' which distorts the surrounding scenery, and the 'Nakanotani Azumaya' rest stop that allows visitors to perceive the island's environment. Experimental approaches are seen in 'F-House' and 'C-House,' where existing structures are reconfigured to house works by Kohei Nawa and Maki Handa, respectively. Hasegawa calls the initiative a 'Utopia,' a concept extended to the newly established 'Inujima Kurasu Shokubutsuen' (Inujima Botanical Garden of Life). This garden, established through collaboration with Sejima and the garden design unit 'Akarui Heya,' utilizes a renovated glass greenhouse and proposes an experimental space where islanders and visitors coexist with nature, viewing the entire island as a museum that blurs the boundary between daily life and exhibition.
(Source：artscape)