PR93052

TAIPEI, Nov. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Executed by Taiwan Design Research Institute (TDRI), the "Fictional Garden:

Taiwan House" Japan Tour was held from October 2 to November 7, 2021,

successively at Good Design Marunouchi in Tokyo and The Terminal KYOTO in

Kyoto, featuring exciting exhibition and six thematic seminars that took both

Taiwan and Japan by storm.

For the full multimedia release, click here:

https://www.prnasia.com/mnr/TDRI_202111.shtml

Since 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has spread across the world, pressing the

pause button on all economic activities and exchanges, and bringing enormous

impacts on the world. Nonetheless, during this erratic period, Taiwan and Japan

have demonstrated a more resilient and stronger bond. In addition to showing

political and diplomatic support, Japan has also made six separate donations of

vaccines to Taiwan, furthering manifesting the close ties between Taiwan and

Japan.

For this reason, the cultural and design sectors in Taiwan and Japan have

planned numerous activities to facilitate bilateral exchange, among which

"Fictional Garden: Taiwan House" was one of the most important cultural

exchanges between Taiwan and Japan, as well as the warm-up event of the "Taiwan

Now" series of activities to be launched in Tokyo, Japan.

Main Spirits: Discover the Cultural Content and Design Status underneath the

Unique Charm of "Taiwan Design"

"Fictional Garden: Taiwan House" was jointly planned by consulting firm Plan b

Inc. and Double-Grass that focuses on curatorial projects. Using flowers (hana

in Japanese) as the theme, the exhibition not only passed on flowers and

blessings symbolizing the friendship between Taiwan and Japan, but also

showcased through flowers the splendid outcomes of the blooming Taiwan design,

summing up Taiwan design's three main spirits of "resource integration,"

"social application," and "response to the time."

The exhibition invited 8 Taiwanese design teams and creative professionals in

various disciplines, including Joe Fang Studio, PiliWu-Design, emerging craft

designer Chang Chia-ling, floral designer Liao Hao-jhe, artist Mia Liu, graphic

designer An Yen, and fashion brands Angus Chiang and Melted Potato, to create

with sustainable materials of Spring Pool Glass and Miniwiz that strive for

green projects, translating Taiwan's imagery of plantation and displaying the

splendid fruits of Taiwan design's diverse cooperation.

The exhibition also selected 10 cases or exhibits of different topics, which

included projects that displayed Taiwan's liberal system and culture and

combined design with social issues, such as: Design Movement on Campus, Public

Digital Space Division, Light Up Taiwan, and Go Grandriders; smart pandemic

prevention ward and sustainable products that conveyed Taiwan's philosophy of

circular sustainability and response to the time; Allrover that demonstrated

Taiwanese industries' strengths in resource integration and innovation. These

classic design cases showcased the diverse viewpoints of Taiwan design to

jointly interpret Taiwan's unique landscape—the "Fictional Garden" that was

free, thriving, and unbounded, and presented the current status of Taiwan's

contemporary design.

Spatial Creativity: Display Taiwan's "Garden of the Future" - Fictional Garden

The spatial design also used "flower" as the core concept, exploring what a

garden that belonged to Taiwan would look like. Focusing on "circular

materials," "industrial technology," and "traditional techniques," the space

constructed display platforms symbolizing western Taiwan, the Central Mountain

Range, and the East Rift Valley, showcasing works that echoed the plants and

cultural patterns of the island's diverse climates. The space resembled our

island, and was metaphor of Planet Earth that was a critical point of the

accumulation of civilization and consumption of resources; would flexible,

interdisciplinary, diverse, and free values blossom for our future?

Diverse Places: Displaying Cultural Fusion of Taiwan and Japan through

different Exhibition Ambiences

With TDRI's long friendship with Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP),

Taiwan House was able to make its first stop at GOOD DESIGN Marunouchi, at the

heart of Tokyo near Tokyo Station. Works by Taiwanese designers were showcased

at the modern, clean venue with large windows, giving Taiwan's Fictional Garden

a refreshing and avant-garde ambience.

The exhibition made its next stop at The Terminal Kyoto, a traditional Japanese

"machiya" (wooden townhouse) with a history of nearly a century that was full

of traditional cultural spirit and carried imprints of local lifestyle. The

curator used the vocabulary of space, rearranging layout and constructing

traffic flow, to manifest under the same framework of contents the tender and

flexible, and adaptive and agile cultural qualities of Taiwan, giving Fictional

Garden a brand new look.

Experience of All Sense: Perceive the "Island Scents" of Taiwan - Breath Taiwan

The fragrance that filled the exhibition space was the smell imprint of the

treasure island of Taiwan reinterpreted by P.Seven Taiwan Tea Perfume founder

Pan on the foundation of Taiwan's forest, temples, and tea culture. Also, this

fragrance is designed to be the exclusive fragrance of Taoyuan International

Airport Corporation, so when visitors arrive in Taiwan, they begin to breathe

in this island every step they make. The fragrance allowed visitors of "Taiwan

House" to breathe and feel the unique features of Taiwan design, leaving

"profound impressions of Taiwan" through a unique experience of all senses.

In-depth Interaction: Further Excavate and Display the Current Status of Taiwan

Design

Not only were there physical exhibitions of "Fictional Garden: Taiwan House"

available in Tokyo and Kyoto, exciting Taiwan-Japan online forums were also

planned in correspondence with the exhibition themes. The forums proposed six

themes: #Social Innovation, #Sustainable Industry, #Public Design, #Regional

Revitalization, #Old Building Revitalization, and #Co-Working Symbiosis.

Through the perspective of design, and different viewpoints of Taiwan and

Japan, the forums explored the relationship between citizens and social

policies, how designers could drive industrial revitalization, how industries

could strike a balance between development and environmental protection, and

designers' mission and social influences, allowing participants from both sides

to further understand cultural, industrial, social, and temporal demands and

search for core values of future design and innovation, while also

strengthening the friendship between Taiwan and Japan. The six forums attracted

over 700 citizens from both Taiwan and Japan.

During the exhibition period, Taiwan Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh,

Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Osaka Deputy Director Chang Yung-hsien,

Overseas Taiwanese in Kyoto Organization Executive Director Liu Chia-ling and

Director Yang Bee-jing, and JIDA Chairperson Tachikawa Eisuke and former

Chairperson Tanaka Kazuo, all visited "Fictional Garden: Taiwan House."

According to feedback of Japanese citizens, this co-creative exhibition and

exchange between Taiwan and Japan comprehensively displayed the development of

Taiwan design in recent years, as well as the diverse and inclusive qualities

of Taiwanese culture, allowing them to see works of Taiwan design that were

unprecedented, innovative, and stunning.

SOURCE: TAIWAN DESIGN RESEARCH INSTITUTE (TDRI)

Image Attachments Links:

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=407577

   Caption: The exhibition invited 8 Taiwanese creative professionals from different

disciplines to produce new creative works using sustainable materials

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=407579

   Caption: Taiwan's imagery of plantation are translated through design to display the

current status of Taiwan's design ecosystem that is free, diverse, thriving,

and unbounded.

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=407581

   Caption: The exhibition made its first stop at GOOD DESIGN Marunouchi near Tokyo

Station, displaying the look of "Taiwan's Garden of the Future – Fictional

Garden."

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=407582

   Caption: Works of creative professionals displayed at an ancient architecture in Kyoto

to showcase the perfect cultural fusion of Taiwan and Japan.

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=407583

   Caption: P.Seven Taiwan Tea Perfume is the exclusive fragrance of the exhibition,

allowing visitors to also breathe in Taiwan in addition to perceiving the

island through their eyes and ears.