Why Not Hand Over a “Shelter” to hermit crabs?
- Creator Name: AKI INOMATA
- Catgory: Art
- Country: Japan
Hermit crabs change their shells as they grow. Sometimes they are kicked out of their shelters by stronger hermit crabs and forced to exchange shells.
I gave hermit crabs new shells that I had made for them with a 3D printer, and if they liked them, they moved into my “shelters”. The shelters that I made for them represent cities from around the world.
My idea for this piece came about when I participated in the “No Man’s Land” exhibition that was held at the French Embassy in Japan in 2009. This work was inspired by the fact that the land of the former French Embassy in Japan belonged to the French until October 2009, and then was handed back to Japan for the following fifty years, after which time it will be returned to France. I was surprised to hear this story, and associated this image with the way that hermit crabs exchange shelters. A piece of land is peacefully exchanged between two countries. While it is the same piece of land, our definition of it changes. In the same way, the appearance of hermit crabs changes completely as they exchange shelters. The hermit crabs in my piece, who exchange shelters representing cities of the world, seem to be crossing over national borders. It also brings to mind migrants and refugees changing their nationalities and the places where they live.
The first time that I made this piece, I only gave the hermit crabs spherical shapes, but they ignored my “shelters”. Using CT scans, I studied the natural shapes of hermit crabs’ shells, and by printing out the 3DCG data using 3D printers, I was able to create “shelters” that the hermit crabs would move into.
Process and tools
I took a CT scan of hermit crabs' shells to obtain data such as the inner spiral structure. Then, using 3D computer graphics software, I added miniature designs of cities around the world, and created the finished pieces using a 3D printer.
Joichi Ito
Both the Gold and the Silver winners of the YouFab Global Creative Awards are wonderful examples of science, art, design and engineering combined in an exquisite antidisciplinary way. The extremely natural integration of meaning, beauty and design are delightful and are examples of exactly the kind of thinking and making that we need today. We can apply this kind of design across all scales – from genetics to cities to space and both of the winners are perfect examples. Congratulations!