Nature nominee

Every living thing will come to the end of its life someday. This end is the moment when it gives way to new life. Tiny plants, which we don’t even notice although they are about everywhere, have their own vast nature where they live as we do.

This photograph was taken with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), which achieves resolutions of several nanometers to visualize a microscopic object which cannot be seen with any optical system due to principal differences. SEMs, which are used to observe the surface of a sample, can produce images that appear to have depth and be three-dimensional. The SEM with high resolution enabled the work to depict a dead plant a few millimeters in size with its extremely fine micrometer-scale structure. The image reveals death and life existing together in the dead plant and the beauty of the micro world in the cycle of life.

In 2013, I started creating art based on the beauty and mystery of nature and outer space. My works include sound art that overlay countless layers of my own voice, a sound installation designed to be experienced by 1 person in a massive space that fits 10,000 people, and art that depicts the world of microorganisms through the lenses of a scanning electron microscope. I am active on many fronts, having won awards in the PX3, Europe's biggest and most prestigious photography competition, and being featured in scientific media such as the National Geographic. I am also involved in joint research and creative projects with universities and companies to generate sounds from atoms. I am also an active musician, playing under the pseudonym Tomoya Matsuura at domestic music festivals like the Fuji Rock Festival and my music has been chosen for best albums in the music media overseas. I have composed music for drama shows, movies, and songs that have won the Space Shower Music Awards.