The past few weeks have certainly been filled with numerous catastrophes: typhoon, earthquake, drought, flood… These environmental events have an impact on millions of people, and climate change seems to be leading us to a future where they will be common occurrences. What, then, becomes the place of urban design in this turmoil? What priorities should municipalities and governments put forward? A million questions emerge as we face such uncertainty.
In the meantime, videos on Twitter have shown Yayoi Kusama’s famous pumpkin turned upside-down in the water, attacked by strong winds and rain. However, it was not destroyed by the waves, and the option to rebuild the structure is being carefully studied (McCurry, 2021). The resistance of this yellow-dotted pumpkin made me think of human resilience. How many catastrophes have we faced in the past, and successfully dealt with? The ability of our species to adapt to varying challenges has already been proven, as we have re-emerged more than once both wiser and stronger.
The human expression will always thrive, whether it is suppressed or not. Diverse forms of art of the ancient world have made their way through the present with archeological digs, archives, or oral tradition transmission. Times of instability only reinforce the need to express oneself, even if the means to do so are limited. Let us instead reinvent urban design to have both a useful and creative purpose. Art is a beam of light in the dark.
The Yayoi Kusama pumpkin sculpture. Image source: McCurry, J. (2021, 12 August). Yayoi Kusama pumpkin sculpture washed into sea by Japan storm. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/12/japan-tropical-storm-batters-famous-yayoi-kusama-sculpture