Abstract

The article presents the study of Japanese aesthetics in relation to the concepts of impermanence—wabi sabi—within the context of our experience in the Amazon rainforest. This investigation stems from a network of associations between concepts ranging from Zen Buddhism to the climatic, biogeochemical, and behavioral cycles of the Amazonian life. Experience and intuitive perception, through the influence of Zen, are established as foundational elements in the understanding of the subject and its relationship with the artistic practice. Our experience, through wander and participant observation, in the Amazon rainforest was adopted as the methodology of this artistic research. We established a dialogue between sense perception and meaning with our experience in the forest. Through a qualitative phenomenological approach, immersion was a relevant factor for the development of this research in the field of arts, and records of memories, personal accounts, and notes were effective in the task of documenting subjective aspects. The accounts of each researcher reflected what had been observed in the forest, thus portraying the individual atmosphere of the artist’s creative process and gaze. One of which is described in this article.