Japanese artist, Aki Inomata creates intricately crafted plastic habitats for hermit crabs, which are influenced by the architecture of major cityscapes — The new york city skyline, a parisian apartment, and a tokyo-style house. The semi-transparent, delicate forms are designed in the style of physical human environments, which ironically become a shelter for the aquatic arthropods. The biology of the hermit crab makes it a fascinating example of identity transfer — as they grow they require larger shells and periodically interchange their external portion with other members of the crustacean community. Inomata connects her study of the hermit’s transformation to the self-adaptation of humans, whether it be in acquiring a new nationality, immigrating or relocating.
