Planet A

Le Fresnoy Video Special Feature: Momoko Seto planetA cotton field

RAN Focus / Video screening

Information

11/1(Sun) 3:00 - 4:00

Roppongi Hills Arena

Free

Detail

Planet A depicts a dried-out world where the intensive cultivation of cotton for economic gain has caused widespread desertification. Vast stretches of land are transformed into a saline desert, where strange trees made of salt emerge from the parched ground. Inspired by the ecological disaster of the Aral Sea, which dramatically shrank as rivers feeding it were diverted for large-scale irrigation, the work explores the consequences of human intervention in the natural environment. Through striking images of salt, water, and cotton, Seto transforms a real environmental crisis into the landscape of an imaginary planet, revealing a world in which the pursuit of economic growth has profoundly altered the ecosystem.

Map

Artist

Momoko Seto

Born in Tokyo, Momoko Seto studied at Le Fresnoy National Studio for Contemporary Arts in France before working as a director at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS).

Her highly innovative work deals with ecology and environmental issues, employing striking styles using macro lenses, slow motion, and time-lapse photography to issue a wake-up call for the post–climate change future. In 2021, she received the Cristal du CNRS, the highest distinction for a scientific director. She directed the PLANET series, including PLANET Σ, which won the Audi Short Film Award at the 2015 Berlinale. Her first feature film, Dandelion’s Odyssey (2022), won the Fondation Gan pour le Cinéma award and received the FIPRESCI Award at Cannes 2025.