May harmony in interiors be rediscovered with a garden of shadows?

Degree Project

IN'EI: Shadow Garden

Fabio Bonaldo

From the myth of the cave to the tokonoma, light is the element that defines the equivalence of vision and knowledge, ultimately becoming a symbol of truth itself. As Stoichita observes, this relationship lies at the root of the “oculocentric” Western culture. Conversely, in the “In Praise of Shadows” essay (1933), Tanizaki reacts to the excesses of modern electric lighting by praising the darkness of traditional Japanese aesthetics. This critique, extending from daily experiences to social dynamics, can be applied to the progressive “enlightened peace” of Hirohito and today’s hyperconnectivity to the digital “multiverse.”

Nearly a century after the publication of “In Praise of Shadows”, the Covid-19 pandemic has renewed the need to balance efficiency and well-being, to nurture the psychological climate of interiors and harmony of the senses. This project originates from a 2021 experiment: during isolation, sound reproductions and abstract shadow compositions evoked natural atmospheres and contexts. It explores the shadows of foliage in space by integrating light design and indoor plants. The semiotic value of “organic shadows” as simulacra is examined: projections not of real nature but indices of deep and layered meanings.

A modular furniture system is developed, composed of opaque, reflective and transparent panels that interlock, incorporating plants into a “space within a space”. First, the product enhances the “indoor garden” with its organic elements; second, the “shadow garden” is projected into the space.

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"IN'EI: SHADOW GARDEN" is a modular furniture reimagining indoor plants through light and shadow design. Inspired by the aesthetic essay "In Praise of Shadows" by Tanizaki Jun'Ichirō (1933), this thesis is a reaction to the alienating contemporary interiors, dominated by visual and digital stimuli. 

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A project made in the course

Bachelor of Design and Art Laurea / Abschluss 24.2

Graduation projects from the Majors in Design and Art Second Session 2024.
More projects by Fabio Bonaldo