Bridge as Belonging

“It is weight that gives meaning to weightlessness.” - Isamu Noguchi Bridge as Belonging is an interactive bamboo installation designed for The Noguchi Museum garden during the winter months, when the main tree sheds its leaves. Inspired by Isamu Noguchi’s lifelong struggle with cultural identity and his exploration of form as a space for emotional tension, the piece draws from his wartime works and stage sets, where lightness became a way to express his experience of living between Eastern and Western worlds. Noguchi’s experiences as a Japanese American during WWII, including his internment and feelings of rejection, deeply shaped his art. This project reflects those tensions through a suspended bamboo structure shaped like a Möbius strip, symbolizing the continuity of identities and the complexity of navigating between cultures. Constructed from reclaimed bamboo, hemp rope, and paper tags, the installation blends sustainability with collective participation. Visitors are invited to write personal reflections, wishes, or stories of identity on paper tags and hang them on the structure, allowing the work to grow through dialogue. Moving gently with the wind, the piece brings quiet presence to the dormant garden, creating a space for visitors to pause, reflect, and engage with their own experiences of belonging.