ASSEMBLAGE

The works of Bernd and Hilla Becher established a new objectivity from collections of industrial and agricultural objects. These stable objective photographic works stand as a base for disassembly and reconfiguration in the early works of this studio, like their 3D counterparts of scanned abandoned agricultural objects in the field to be used in the later portions of this studio. The process of disassembly defamiliarizes the original object toward a flat reading of parts, without hierarchy. Conditional machine learning models trained on continuity, similarity, and correlation reconfigure parts into new wholes and the resulting reading lies somewhere between parts and their respective wholes, or figures and their respective elements.

This project asks how one can tell a story through space. The beauty of Inujima cannot be understood in the moments in which history occurs, but rather as time passes and allows its story to develop. This project replies to the industrialization of Inujima and the richness it has produced towards the cultivation of the island. The present space draws the individual in by blurring the lines between the outside and the inside. This was done by including elements that establish a dark and heavy atmosphere. These elements are set before the actual entrance in order to emphasize the characteristics of the present: static, unmovable, impermeable. As one progresses from past space to present space, the roof is lifted and the elevation moves downward. Light is introduced and the individual basks in the view of the physical manifestation of Inujima’s history: The quarries. Here, in this space, temporary art installations can be put that shed light on the cultural richness of the quarries.

The transition of a hopeful future portal. Introspection is encouraged as they are greeted by cozy cafes to reflect on their experience. The cafe opens up to a zen garden that represents Inujima as a whole, with each rock being proportional to every quarry on the island. Raking goes through all spaces, through its interiority and exteriority, and meets the raking of the sand that weaves around the boulders in the zen garden. The scarring caused by granite extractions should not be hidden, but rather they should be exposed and active on the form, as they are a sign of growth and change. The physical indentations of raking are symbolic of the imperfections, the acknowledgment of it, and how it plays a large role in Inujima’s story.

This project focuses on what it means to live in the present, reflect on the past, and look to the future.