Mitosis

It is said that everything that has form will break down. Matter deteriorates over time. If the concept of time that we humans know can be applied to the universe, then the Earth would have been born approximately 4.6 billion years ago, and the universe itself would have been created by the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago. However, given that we cannot imagine a state before the Big Bang, I personally begin to doubt whether the concept of time as we know it really applies to the universe. Time is said to always flow evenly, whether it is the present, ancient times, or the future, and there is no starting point or fixed point. So how can it be that before the Big Bang, everything was nothing?

For example, we can sense the flow of a stream or the gentle breeze on our skin, but we cannot sense the flow of time itself on our skin. By looking at the second hand of a clock, we can perceive the movement of time, but there is no way to be sure that it is acting in accordance with the flow of time in the universe.

Matter deteriorates over time, and so our lives will eventually decay as well, but if we ask whether life is material, we can say that it is a system in which organs, each with their own role, interact organically to maintain constant activity, and matter can be said to be the cells that make up that system. Each cell divides and replicates itself repeatedly. If you think about it, we all originate from a single fertilized egg and exist as an organism made up of approximately 37 trillion cells. Since cells are material, they cannot escape the principle of deterioration, and therefore, when the time is right, they destroy their own bodies in advance, while at the same time replicating themselves, thereby maintaining the life of the parent system for longer. We have brains to think, but each cell does not. Yet each cell can determine the most appropriate timing to destroy itself and then replicate a new self to replace it. It does not replicate indiscriminately. Although they may not be taught by anyone, they self-replicate by determining the appropriate time and place. On the other hand, cancer cells self-replicate indiscriminately, without knowing the appropriate time or place, and without receiving advice from anyone. This is why the very existence of humans is mocked as being like cancer cells to the Earth, but why is it that humans, one of the most intelligent animals among all living things, have no moderation? I suspect that either cancer cells themselves are actually endowed with a high level of intelligence, just like humans, or that humans are just as flawed a life form as cancer cells.

As mentioned above, normal cells carry out self-replication at the appropriate time and place. This is done by undergoing mitosis, transforming into two almost identical copies of the original cell. It is important to note that the original mother cell itself disappears. Cells do not resist the law of deterioration over time, but rather actively sacrifice their own bodies, making it their mission to entrust everything to the next generation. If one is attached to oneself, mitosis cannot be carried out, and unless one truly senses and masters the flow of time with one’s body, one cannot grasp that appropriate “moment.”

I have always felt that the greatest joy of creating a work is to create something that has life in it, but in my case, this has never actually happened. Of course, something that has life in it is an abstract concept, and it is of course impossible to create actual life with human hands. It is not possible to artificially create from scratch not only the system known as life, but even a single cell.

When viewers look into this work, entitled Mitosis, they will find themselves captured within the glass sphere. However, this unit does not replicate itself, not because it chooses the appropriate time and place, but simply because it is not functioning as a living organism.

If this unit is capable of self-replication, then you yourself, whose form is captured within the glass ball, are the mother entity, and you yourself will disappear at the appropriate time. In reality, we are all destined to disappear one day, so when that time comes, this unit will have to replicate you. But in fact, this will not happen, because this unit is a fake.

Living beings, who must live every day towards a future in which disappearance is already certain, are burdened by a cruel fate. I created this self-replicating unit but having no intention of resisting this reality. Perhaps I want to understand the true meaning of cells continuing to self-replicate for hundreds of millions of years. In other words, it is also about getting a sense of how time flows in this universe.