releaf

After researching different cultures and their relationship to waste, Manami Taniuchi proposes an alternative way of relating to these overlooked materials based on reevaluating the distinctions between nature and humanity. The Japanese term Jinen (自然), once defined as ‘as it is’ but which now means ‘nature' in contemporary Japan, forms the theoretical base of the project. Historically, in Japanese culture, Jinen evokes that nature is not just something untouched by humans but is an attitude that views everything on Earth as a single organism, without comparisons, rigid definitions or classifications. As such, all materials were treated as valuable for a specific time in Japanese history. However, current classifications create a hierarchy denigrating instead of celebrating different materials. The project challenges this way of relating to matter by combining found materials with delicate skeletal leaves. Merging these fragile, often ignored materials invites reconsidering the hierarchy of values imposed on different materials.