"What About the Heart?" is a photo-series and book by Luisa Whitton that documents the advances of the robotics industry in Japan, and explores how these advances in technology affect the human identity.

11143_1

Source: Luisa Whitton

She worked closely for months with Hiroshi Ishiguro, a renowned robotics scientist who is famous for building a robotic double of himself. Her photography , she explains, is an effort to provoke thought about the lifelike robotic appendages and how we divide the realms of human and robotic, if at all: "In the photographs, I am trying to subvert the traditional formula of portraiture and allure the audience into a debate on the boundaries that determine the dichotomy of the human/not human."

11143_12

Source: Luisa Whitton

11143_8

Source: Luisa Whitton

In asking Ishiguro about the definition of humanity, she was told "The definition of human will be more complicated, there is no absolute definition. We use artificial organs more and more, and replace our bodies with machines."

11143_2

Source: Luisa Whitton

11143_3

Source: Luisa Whitton

11143_4

Source: Luisa Whitton

The eerie, yet lifelike creations force us to consider just how much of the human experience can be replicated.

11143_6

Source: Luisa Whitton

11143_5

Source: Luisa Whitton

11143_7

Source: Luisa Whitton

Whitton posed the question "What about the heart?" to Ishiguro.

11143_10

Source: Luisa Whitton

Ishiguro took the question at face valuing, answering that "The heart is the easiest part. Artificial hearts are very popular now. The liver is more difficult."

11143_11

Source: Luisa Whitton

11143_13

Source: Luisa Whitton

11143_14

Source: Luisa Whitton


By - grape Japan editorial staff.