At the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, the Japan Pavilion was curated by architect Jun Aoki, with Tamayo Iemura (Professor, Tama Art University) as curatorial advisor. Under their direction, two units collaborated: SUNAKI (architect Toshikatsu Kiuchi and artist/programmer Taichi Sunayama), and Asako Fujikura+Takahiro Ohmura. The theme, IN-BETWEEN, examines the responses—dialogues—that arise in the ma (the in-between time/space) between binaries such as human/non-human and natural/artificial, without collapsing them into a single unity. It envisions the possibility of a third form of intelligence that does not presuppose the separation of subject and object, using the pavilion building itself as the site of inquiry.

Set in “a near future” where natural-language dialogue between humans and non-humans has become possible, the exhibition unfolds under a scenario in which the building’s constituent elements—Hole, Wall Columns, Outer Walls, Pensilina, Brick Terrace, Tilted Loop Path, and Yew Tree—acquire personhood and engage in conversation about their own renovation. Architecture, trees, bricks, air, and circulation routes alike are treated as “objects” that equally constitute the architecture, so long as they can be perceived.

The outdoor spaces were designed by SUNAKI. Fujikura and Ohmura were responsible for the second-floor gallery, presenting a video installation saturated with the “voices” of humans and non-humans. Two large screens face each other: one showing Human Video, a live-action work in which five people gather around a dining table; the other showing Construction Video, a 3DCG fictional landscape that sequentially translates the dialogue into images. Between them, two monitors are mounted on wall columns—one displaying subtitles, the other Object Video, showing the speaking entity at the moment of utterance. Visitors find themselves in the midst of a “neutral point,” where images, sound, language, bodies, and architecture mutually interfere, and are drawn into dialogues between the human and the non-human.

第19回ヴェネチア・ビエンナーレ国際建築展・日本館展示。キュレーターは建築家の青木淳。キュラトリアル・アドバイザーに家村珠代（多摩美術大学教授）を加えたキュレーターチームのもと、木内俊克と砂山太一による「SUNAKI」と藤倉麻子＋大村高広の2ユニットが出展した。テーマは「中立点／IN-BETWEEN」。人間／非人間、自然／人工といった二項を単純に統合せず、その「あいだ＝間」に生じる応答を探る試みであり、主客の分離を前提としない第三の知性の可能性を、日本館という建物そのものを舞台に構想している。

人間と非人間とのあいだでの自然言語による対話が成立しうる「少し先の未来」にて、日本館の構成要素たち──〈穴〉〈壁柱〉〈四周壁〉〈ペンシリーナ〉〈煉瓦テラス〉〈斜め軌道リング〉〈一位の木〉──が人格をもち、自らの改修について語り合うという筋書きのもと、対話が展開していく。建築も、樹木も、煉瓦も、空気も、動線も、それが認識できればひとしく建築を構成する対象＝オブジェクトとして扱われる。外部空間はSUNAKIが担当。藤倉麻子＋大村高広は2階展示室を担当し、映像インスタレーションを展開した。

人間と非人間の「声」が飛びかう展示室に、大きなスクリーンがふたつ。一方は5人の人物が食卓を囲む実写映像《Human Video》、もう一方は対話を逐次的にイメージへと編訳していく3DCGによるフィクショナルな風景映像《Construction Video》。そのあいだにモニターがふたつ。ひとつは字幕、もうひとつは発話中の事物の姿を映す《Object Video》。来場者は、映像・音・言葉・身体・建築が互いに干渉しあう「中立点」の只中で、人間と非人間の対話に巻き込まれていく。

Name Venice Biennale 2025 – Japan Pavilion: IN-BETWEEN

Date 10 MAY – 23 NOV. 2025

Type Exhibition

Curator Jun Aoki

Curatorial Advisor Tamayo Iemura

Exhibitors Asako Fujikura | Takahiro Ohmura | Toshikatsu Kiuchi (SUNAKI) | Taichi Sunayama (SUNAKI)

Composer / Sound Designer ermhoi

Sound Engineer / Sound Designer Makoto Oshiro

Technical Engineer Yuya Ito

Project Management Tomoko Shinagawa | Yuko Machida | Yukiko Iwase

Exhibition Assistant Sky Araki | Michibumi Ito | Yudai Kato | Issei Kouda | Yu Matsumoto | Yuta Saito | Taiyo Sumi

Graphic Design Akiko Wakabayashi

Book Editor Nao Amino

Fabrication alcarol [Andrea Forti & Eleonora Dal Farra] (Reflective Saucer) | BARNA Gergely Péter (Clay Rail)

Film Production KAORU [Kaoru Mitsui] (Food Stylist) | Alice Ogi (Food Assistant) | Lisa Aoki (Director of Photography) | Shuma Ozawa (Camera operator, Colorist) | Harumi Suzuki (Camera Assistant) | Takahiro Fujii (Film Lighting Expert) | Saeko Naruke (Lighting Assistant) | Takeshi Ishida (Lighting Assistant) | Eri Kanzaki (Production Management) | Arisa Ueji (Hair and Make-up Artist) | Satoko Shinya (Styling) | Hidetoshi Inanaga (Prop Construction)

CG Production Assistant Ai Ikeda (Rendering Coordinator) | Miki Nigo (Motion Design)

Structural Engineer Tomomi Kimura

Title Font Tariq Heijboer

Local Coordination Harumi Muto

Actors Kie Onikubo | Shuji Morita | Takuto Ohta | Rie Allison | Kyoko Ano

Voice Actors Kevin Mchugh | Ena Morita | Shuji Morita | Julia Shortreed | Jua | HIMI | ermhoi

Musicians Yuri Kamei (1st Vn) | Tomohiro Ishii (2nd Vn) | Mei Mishina (Viola) | Sonoko Muraoka (Vc) | Marty Holoubek (Double Bass) | Taikimen (Marimba)

Fabrication Assistants Taihei Mizutani (Clay Rails) | Ryosuke Nakahara (Clay Rails) | Yoshiyasu Saito (Clay Rails) | Ryotaro Yamaguchi (Clay Rails) | Sota Araki (Clay Rails)

Cultural mediators Camila Lopez | Sofia Moro | Margherita Ballarini

Support Staff Alessandro Lassi | Saverio Veronese

Commissioner The Japan Foundation

With the Special Support of
Ishibashi Foundation

With the Support of 
TAISEI CORPORATION | TAKENAKA CORPORATION | KAJIMA CORPORATION | The Obayashi Foundation | YKK AP Inc. | Sanwa Facade Laboratory Corporation
Hitoshi Tanaka | Hideaki Fukutake | Yasuharu Ishikawa | Katsushige Kambara | Yoshiko Mori | Shigeru Aoi | Yuta Kinose | Rina Matsuda | Miyuki Mizuno | Hiroaki Sakai | Takafumi Takahashi | Michiyoshi Takuma | Hiroyuki Maki | Takayuki Ishii | Tomio Koyama | Taro Nasu | Yutaka Kikutake | Kotaro Nukaga | Norimichi Hirakawa | Kengo Kito | Daito Manabe | Mika Ninagawa | Kei Takemura

In Special Cooperation with
kolor

In Cooperation with
DELTA ELECTRONICS (JAPAN), INC. | EventRegist Co., Ltd. | HP Japan Inc. | KYOTO Design Lab, the Kyoto Institute of Technology | mgn Co., Ltd