LIFE CYCLES | Interviews with Tanabe Chikuunsai IV

The Artist and the Bamboo

Tanabe Chikuunsai IV is conscious of the life of the bamboo he uses in his work. The exhibition highlights the importance of conserving the bamboo forests, or chikurin, for future generations. As he weaves the bamboo strips, Chikuunsai reflects upon connections, or tsunagari, between humans and nature, present and past generations, and the cultures he brings together through his installations. When an exhibition closes, he dismantles each installation and saves the bamboo strips to use in his next work — creating a generational connection between his works, deliberately avoiding waste, and extending the bamboo’s life cycle.

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