Decaying Plants I Captured With A Scanning Electron Microscope

Within the natural world that we experience every day, every single tiny plant also contains the grandness of nature, and goes from life to death in a repeating cycle. Living things all end their lives, but that is not the end of everything. It is also the beginning of the transformation of that life energy into something new. Everything, including humans, exists in connection to everything else.

With the creation of this “Withered plant” series, I have used a Scanning Electron Microscope for the photography. This microscope has a higher resolution than an optical microscope, and so it is possible to capture the extremely fine and delicate structures of the forms, overflowing with vibrancy and a variety of expressions that cannot be seen by the naked eye.

I am planning to exhibit these images on buildings and walls around the city. I am thinking of an installation, where people can see the giant exhibition of the tiny plants that live nearby. Through seeing the grandness of nature that surrounds them in this way, I hope that they will feel that we humans are also living things that exist together with the natural world.

It may be the view of nature carried over from ancient Japan, but the sense of humanity also being one part of the natural world is at the heart of these art pieces.

Captured size: width 0.6~5mm.

More info: tomoyamatsuura.tumblr.com

Decaying Plants I Captured With A Scanning Electron Microscope