Conceptual nominee

Photos of microplastics--tiny plastic particles that result from manufactured products and are prevalent in seawater. They are considered pollutants, and the amount of microplastics is estimated to be 14 million tonnes on the ocean floor worldwide. Some microplastics can be detected in sea salt. Each particle has its specific origin and had its own value when it was part of a product. However, we cannot know about the past identities of the microplastic particles since they have been anonymized. In our artwork, new stories of them emerge in the relationship with the viewer.

N/A is an artist unit of Kikoh Matsuura, and Kazuki Ide. We started our journey from 2018, and have constructed artworks such as installation, video and photo. We use both scientific techniques and context to weave our stories. And we hope that when viewers confront our works, they will read a context different from our intentions, and a new story will be born there. For this reason, we give our works a multi-layered context.