Nadare Garden was inspired by a traditional Japanese American Taiko drum song called Nadare (Video Linked here) which speaks to “the futility of the human struggle in the face of mother nature”. Taiko is an ancient Japanese drum form which dates back over two thousand years, but was later adapted by Japanese American immigrants as a form of cultural pride and activism.
The gardens' composition, forms, atmosphere and texture were all translated from an abstract painting which was drawn in direct response to listening to the energy of a performance of Nadare (see portfolio). This painting was then dissected to create the textures and spatial experience of the garden. I chose to compose the entire gardens with marginalized species. These included Japanese Knotweed, The Tree of Heaven and Asiatic Bittersweet all of whom experience a similar xenophobic “narrative of the invasive” to that experienced by Japanese American Immigrants. The concept speaks to the nature of flux in our environment and hopes to bring greater acceptance to marginalized species.
Sumi Ink Painting which translates the energy of the Taiko song into drawing.
