Azuma Makoto Sends Plants to Space

For Azuma Makoto‘s newest series, the Japanese artist photographed a white pine bonsai and an arrangement of flowers floating above Earth’s bed of clouds. Working with a team of 10 people, the 38-year-old creative attached each plant display to a collection of giant helium balloons that were capable of rising to 91,800 feet before bursting. Rigged with a number of still and video cameras, from Fuji Film to GoPro, each ascent into space was recorded with 360 degree views. Speaking on his unique installation, Makoto told The New York Times “the best thing about this project is that space is so foreign to most of us, so seeing a familiar object like a bouquet of flowers flying above Earth domesticates space, and the idea of traveling into it.”