The Pacific Island

The final island of the exhibition invites us to discover the love of nature and culture shared by France and Japan for the Pacific Islands. Inspired by Bora Bora, it draws our gaze to a lagoon — an ecosystem as fragile as it is fascinating.
A three-dimensional animation illustrates rahui, an ancestral Polynesian practice of temporarily restricting access to certain natural areas to support their regeneration. These restrictions can apply to lagoons, bays, coconut groves, or specific plant and animal species, allowing nature to recover and thrive.
Two animal sculptures, created especially for the exhibition, watch over the island. One depicts the Iriomote wildcat, a symbol of Japan’s efforts to protect endangered species. On the other side stands Pi‘ihoro, a protective dog marked with Polynesian mythological tattoos — a bird on its back and a shark on its belly — guarding this threatened territory.
These two totem animals serve as guardians and witnesses to the lagoon’s rebirth through the practice of rahui.