Reassemble by Tatsuya Tamaka

Begin with this video where you can see Tatsuya Tamaka at work and marvel at his studio. This will be the best two minutes of your day! Now click here to see more of his work.

Publisher blurb for Reassemble: Miniature workers are busy at work, disassembling and reassembling familiar everyday objects. At first, they just look like discarded parts of something we may or may not recognize. But how about when the workers put everything together? Don't the reassembled parts resemble something else you know? Join the miniature workers in this trip through the familiar yet new world of Tatsuya Tanaka's miniatures. Although a picture book, this book is not just for children, but is also aimed at adults interested in Miniatures, art, photography, and people interested in Japanese culture. The perfect coffee table book or gift for everyone.

Tatsuya Tanaka is a miniature photographer and Mitate artist born in 1981 in Kumamoto, Japan. In 2011, he started “Miniature Calendar,” an art project in which he reimagines, from the miniature perspective, everyday objects as something else. Since then, he has been presenting his creations every day on the Internet. ...  Over 3.8 million people follow his Instagram account (as of June 2024). Mitate is Tatsuya Tanaka's unique art of reimagining everyday objects as something else.

I have followed Tatsuya Tanaka on Instagram for many years. His clever photographs make me smile, laugh and marvel. Now I have seen his new picture book which I know will be a hit with readers aged 6+. The ideas here might even inspire your young reading companion or class at school to try adapting everyday objects into creative photos.

Here are some of his other books (for adults) and you could look for his calendars too.

You can row a boat made of chili. You can enjoy an easy morning stroll among asparagus trees. You will be excited alongside the racetrack, which is actually the surface of a vinyl record. In this miniature world life looks ordinary - yet from a different perspective. Japanese photographer Tatsuya Tanaka started posting miniature pictures every day in in 2011, calling it "Miniature Calendar."  In this book (Small Wonders) you can find more than 100 works created by utilising everyday objects, tiny figures, and an immense amount of imagination. You will be amazed by the ideas found in the ordinary things around you that bring back the curiosity you used to have in childhood.

When you go to Tatsuya Tamaka's web page be prepared to be amazed and also to spend a long time there. If you scroll to the bottom there is a theme list - it is a bit like a pandora's box but if you click on a theme you can see even more tiny imaginative creations by Tatsuya.

Image source: Calendar products Tatsuya Tamaka

On his web page you can also select a date from the archive of calendar images - there are hundreds to explore. 

I picked a random date September 23rd 2017 This is Grape Picking

Image source: Miniature calendar

This book reminded me this inventive vegetable book:

The images and creativity behind the work of Tatsuya Tanaka also reminds me of another wonderful Japanese illustration - Mitsumasa Anno.

Anno's Alphabet