macoto murayama: inorganic flora at frantic gallery

macoto murayama: inorganic flora frantic gallery, tokyo, japan december 9th – 11th, 2011

‘southern star, pureblue i’ (2011), part of macoto murayama’s ‘inorganic flora’ collection on exhibition at tokyo’s frantic gallery digital C-print 5.8×6.1cm

originally scheduled for last march but delayed by the earthquake in japan, tokyo’s frantic gallery presents this december ‘inorganic flora‘, the first solo exhibition of japanese new media artist macoto murayama, who layers the worlds of biological investigation, artistic design, and historical study in his collection of digital prints.

the exhibition is divided into two primary parts, ‘botanical diagram’, the prints of flower images with textual and mathematical markings, and ‘botech art’, pieces which emphasis colour and depth. the botanical diagrams are modeled after historical reference works and engineering plans, utilizing similar conventions of labeling and layout, but nonetheless treating the subject with an aesthetically minded eye in the tradition of historical botany illustrations.

the creation of each design is a multistep and multimedia process. murayama begins with research and dissection of botanical specimens, photographing and sketching their parts. he then composes a 3D model in 3DS max, modifying individual elements in photoshop and matting the completed diagram in illustrator with captions and indication of scale.

many of the works feature multiple perspectives of a single specimen, as in ‘commelina communis’ and ‘lathyrus odoratus’, where conventional top, front, and side view diagrams are joined by the multi-organism ‘ecology’ composition. among the ‘botech’ pieces, murayama experiments with diverse colours and arrangements of singular species, often creating as many as five or more different renditions of the same plant.

top row (left to right): ‘rose iii’, ‘sweet pea v’, ‘sweet pea iv’, ‘transvaal daisy ii’ bottom row (left to right): ‘satsuki azalea’, ‘transvaal daisy v’, ‘transvaal daisy iv’, ‘sweet pea iii’

‘southern star, pureblue ii’ (2011) digital C-print 50.8×50.8cm

‘cosmos sulphureus cav, top view’ (2010) digital C-print framed in plexiglass 100x100cm, edition of 3

variations on ‘japanese lily’, from left to right: ‘japanese lily ii’, ‘japanese lily iii’, ‘japanese lily iv’, ‘japanese lily v’, ‘japanese lily vi’

‘commelina communis L., front view’ (2011) digital C-print framed in plexiglass 100x100cm, edition of 3

‘commelina communis L., side view’ (2011) digital C-print framed in plexiglass 100x100cm, edition of 3

top row – ‘rose’ series, from left to right: ‘rose ii’, ‘rose iii’, ‘rose iv’, ‘rose v’ bottom row (left to right): ‘sunflower iv’, ‘sunflower v’, ‘spider lily iii’, ‘yoshino cherry ii’