tomoya matsuura captures decaying plants with a microscopic lens
(above) width of the image 6mm
all images © tomoya matsuura 

 

 

photography meets technology in the ‘withered plant’ series by japanese artist tomoya matsuura, which captures decaying botanical life using a scanning electron microscope. the decomposition and decay of flowers and leaves are poetically portrayed through vivid monochrome photos.

 

‘one seems to catch a glimpse of the mystery and dynamism connecting the cycle of life in the finely etched traces of existence in the microscopic world’ matsuura describes. black and white compositions reveal intricacies and details otherwise invisible to the naked eye, where each plant is revealed in its final phases – petals curl and furl into distorted shapes, stems shrink in size and and leaves shrivel into near oblivion. the project seeks to make people aware of the fundamental link between humans and nature, and that we and plants are all part of the same natural world.

tomoya matsuura captures decaying plants with a microscopic lenstomoya matsuura captures decaying plants with a microscopic lens
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tomoya matsuura captures decaying plants with a microscopic lens
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tomoya matsuura captures decaying plants with a microscopic lens
width of the image 0.64mm

tomoya matsuura captures decaying plants with a microscopic lens
width of the image 2.4mm

tomoya matsuura captures decaying plants with a microscopic lens
width of the image 2.4mm

tomoya matsuura captures decaying plants with a microscopic lens
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tomoya matsuura captures decaying plants with a microscopic lens
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tomoya matsuura captures decaying plants with a microscopic lens
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tomoya matsuura captures decaying plants with a microscopic lens
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tomoya matsuura captures decaying plants with a microscopic lens
width of the image 1.9mm