The New Japan Islands

CONCEPT
Digitally Fermenting Landscape
Currently, society around us is changing by the minute, or actually, by the second. The internet, which used to be a utopia of decentralized ecosystem, is causing new social problems such as filter bubbles and concentrated data concessions.

On the other hand, new ecosystems are being nurtured from the soil where the digital infrastructure is rooted. Be it in the field of architecture, sculpture, food or digital expressions, cultural seeds born from the islands of Japan, interrelate in an ever so complex manner with various phenomena, giving rise to new seeds which augment human knowledge while coexisting with the old.

Cultural memes created by humans and connected devices have evolved uniquely and independently in our society, merging with nature and technology, creating the next landscape of the industrial society.

This transforming Japanese culture can be called as an encompassing fermenting ecosystem. Similar to the process of fermentation induced by the activity of invisible and uncountable microbes, the Japanese culture ferments, obscuring boundaries between public and private states.

The theme of this event then, is to propose an inclusive future vision which accepts the chaotically fermenting scenery in a positive way, and even embroiling pop culture in it.

MISSION
The series of Industrial Revolutions marked its beginning with the invention of steam engine. Now in its 4th stage, the transformation is led by IoT and AI. However, the unconditional condoning of material wealth has engendered environmental destruction, placing earth—the home of humanity—in danger. Furthermore, in pursuit of efficiencies such as economies of scale, businesses are tending towards monopolization and oligopolization, leading society to be homogenous and intolerant against diversity.

0th Industrial Revolution is a concept keyword that breaks through the limitations of modern capitalism and growth-oriented mindsets. Under this concept we aim to reexamine the merits of the conventional centralized society and mass production processes and suggest that perhaps a shift towards a society where individuals and organization act autonomously may actually bring stability to the environment, including humanity.

Central to the concept are values found in Eastern thoughts, that is, views on nature and harmony. For example, Japan fully embraces the artisan’s techniques and artistry into daily life as we can see in Japanese gardens. Old architecture is designed to harmonize with nature, for example, accepting deteriorations of wood carvings and ceramics in its natural state.

The message from Japan is to consider a Nostalgic Future, that is, to revisit the original ways of human life to construct a future that softly connects industry and culture.