Setouchi Triennale 2025

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The Imperative Landscape (2025) :

Macrocosm — Microcosm

Presented as part of the 6th Setouchi Triennale, Autumn Edition, 2025

Art
Spirituality
Ancient Wisdom

The Imperative Landscape is an ongoing research-driven art series by Zen Teh that explores the intersections of spirituality, ecology, and cultural memory across Asian landscapes.

Collaboration

The Imperative Landscape (2025) is a three part research-based art installation by Singaporean Environmental Artist Zen Teh in collaboration with Architectural Designer, Nicole Teh from Pine Atelier. The installation at the Isenomiya Shrine is made in collaboration with Architect Nicole Teh and Thai Astronomer, Farung Surina from the Faculty of Science and Technology, at Chiang Rai Rajabhat University in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The Buddhist drum performance is by Chief Monk Dōdō of Entsūji Temple, a Shingon Buddhist temple in Utazu. Documentary film by Cambodian Filmmakers Choulay Mech, Chheangly Yeng and Chakriya Chhoenghauv

Site-specific installation at the Hachiman Shrine

Installation site #1/3: The Imperative Landscape (2025) at the Hachiman Shrine, for the 6th Setouchi Triennale.

This 3-part installation series is made in collaboration with Architectural Designer, Nicole Teh, from Pine Atelier.

Image courtesy of Art Front Gallery.

Site-specific installation at the Hachiman Shrine

The work features a collage of Kagawa’s grand gorges as a tribute to the enshrined Kami, alongside living bonsai nurtured by an engineered light-and-water system that symbolizes the microcosmic cycles sustaining life. Motion sensors trigger the sound of waves, linking the shores of Singapore and Japan, while the powerful chanting of Shinto purification rituals fills the space, offering visitors a renewed meditative experience.

This installation embodies Zen Teh’s research into the spirituality and cultural traditions of Utazu, reawakening the shrine as a space of serenity, reflection, and blessing in the present day.

Site-specific installation at the Hachiman Shrine

This installation art at the Hachiman Shrine explores the deep connection between water and human life, making visible the invisible presence of water that shapes our bodies, culture, and spiritual awareness. Our bodies are composed of nearly 70% water, and through each breath we participate in a cycle that sustains life and connects us to the cosmos.

Image courtesy of Art Front Gallery.

Site-specific installation at the Isenomiya Shrine

Installation site #2/3: The Imperative Landscape (2025) at the Isenomiya Shrine.

Image courtesy of Art Front Gallery.

This installation at Isenomiya Shrine explores the relationship between human beings, nature, and the universe through the path of the sun. Ise-no-Miya Shrine, built during the Edo period, is dedicated to Amaterasu-Ōmikami, the sun goddess. According to tradition, after Izanagi-no-Mikoto and Izanami-no-Mikoto gave birth to the land of Japan, Amaterasu entrusted the deities and people dwelling there with rice, making it their staple food.

Site-specific installation at the Isenomiya Shrine

The water responds to the vibrations of ritual Buddhist drums, evoking waves along the shore and recalling the ancient amalgamation of Shinto and Buddhism (Shinbutsu-shūgō). Recorded sounds of the ocean from Utazu and Singapore’s East Coast Park create a cross-cultural dialogue between the two coastal nations.

Image courtesy of Art Front Gallery.

Collaged images of Kagawa's sacred landscape printed on the roof of former Suzuki Barber Shop

As a Singaporean artist whose research-driven practice explores human–nature relationships in urban contexts, Zen investigates the ancient wisdom embedded in traditional Japanese cultural practices, their connection to nature, and how these practices have evolved in contemporary Utazu.
Her research included public workshops with local residents, interviews with spiritual leaders, and consultations with cultural history experts, including Professor Yoshida of Nagoya City University and folklorist Mr. Sasaki from Kagawa Prefecture. These inquiries revealed a phenomenon of generational cultural loss, particularly concerning ancient ritual practices, their histories, and meanings.

Research installation at the former Suzuki Barber Shop

Accompanying research materials include a documentary film on the research process at Utazu, and architectural drawings that reveal the complex integration of art, architecture, astronomy and engineering behind the project, realized in collaboration with architect Nicole Teh of Pine Atelier.

The research documentary film is filmed by Cambodian artist and documentary filmmaker, Choulay Mech, with editing by Poet and filmmaker, Chheangly Yeng and translation by Japanese language lecturer, Chakriya Chhoenghauv.

empowering local knowledge

community workshop, interviews, site studies

view documentary film on Zen Teh's research process below

Community based research on spirituality and ancient knowledge, site-specific studies at Utazu, Japan

Zen Teh conducts observational studies on spiritual rituals involving natural elements as part of her research and art making process.

Community based research on spirituality and ancient knowledge, site-specific studies at Utazu, Japan

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Documentary Film
: Utazu Folklore and the Artist Eye

by Cambodian Filmmakers Choulay Mech, Chheangly Yeng, Chakriya Chhoenghauv
Subtitle and translation by Chakriya Chhoenghauv.

Documentary film on Zen Teh's research process for her artwork series — The Imperative Landscape (2025) for the Setouchi Triennale 2025.

Media Features

Selected media features from over more than 38 media coverage

Featured on Nikkei News

Featured on Provincial Media

Featured on Nikkei News

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The Imperative Landscape (2025) :

Macrocosm — Microcosm

Art Spirituality Ancient Wisdom

Collaboration

empowering local knowledge

Documentary Film : Utazu Folklore and the Artist Eye

by Cambodian Filmmakers Choulay Mech, Chheangly Yeng, Chakriya Chhoenghauv Subtitle and translation by Chakriya Chhoenghauv.

Documentary film on Zen Teh's research process for her artwork series — The Imperative Landscape (2025) for the Setouchi Triennale 2025.

Art
Spirituality
Ancient Wisdom

Documentary Film
: Utazu Folklore and the Artist Eye

by Cambodian Filmmakers Choulay Mech, Chheangly Yeng, Chakriya Chhoenghauv
Subtitle and translation by Chakriya Chhoenghauv.