Pieces of Narratives System of Culture

Tokyo-based art collective System of Culture uses photography as their primary medium to explore the connections between art history and the complexities of our information-saturated modern society. By composing scenes that juxtapose classical still-life motifs—such as fruit and candlesticks—with contemporary household items like laundry detergent and gummy candies, they create images that transcend everyday interpretation.

This volume marks the collective's first commercially distributed monograph and is comprised entirely of their latest series, "Pieces of Narratives" (31 works). Alongside the visuals, the book features short stories written by neuroscientist Nobuko Nakano, writer Awa Ito, and artist Rintaro Fuse. A key highlight is the intentional integration of AI into their creative process—using it to select motifs and locations—thereby achieving a level of creativity that exceeds the artist’s own intent and challenges the role of AI as both a convenience and a threat to human imagination. Edited by Masanobu Sugatsuke with book design by Osamu Sakuma (RONDADE).