Tatsuya Tanaka’s Miniature Calendar makes every day a tiny delight

Visit Miniature Calendar for a daily dose of life on a small scale from Tatsuya Tanaka.

Have you ever looked a stalk of broccoli and remarked on its resemblance to a tree? Or how a bottlecap looks like a tablecloth skirting a round table? These little thoughts are what led to a big project from Tatsuya Tanaka.

^{‘Hide and seek’ by Tatsuya Tanaka, via Miniature Calendar}

Tanaka photographs scenes with tiny figures interacting with regular-sized everyday objects and posts them daily on Miniature Calendar.

^{‘Guide’ by Tatsuya Tanaka, via Miniature Calendar}

Though the figures are generally acting out something ordinary, the shrunken perspective transforms the way you look at mundane items such as paperclips, baby corn and compact discs.

^{‘Puddle’ by Tatsuya Tanaka, via Miniature Calendar}

Tanaka even works in the odd pop culture reference, introducing Ant-Man, Star Wars icons, and Spider-Man to his tiny world.

^{‘Obi-wan vs Anakin’ by Tatsuya Tanaka, via Miniature Calendar}

Sometimes his creations are even newsworthy.

^{‘Asteroid’ by Tatsuya Tanaka, via Miniature Calendar}

In an interview with Designboom, Tanaka reveals that he began posting daily images to Miniature Calendar on 20 April 2011, and it continues to this day.

^{‘Steak’ by Tatsuya Tanaka, via Miniature Calendar}

Since 2011, Miniature Calendar has featured more than 1,600 new images.

^{‘Treadmill’ by Tatsuya Tanaka, via Miniature Calendar}

It’s impressive that Tanaka’s inventive imagination can dream up new dioramas with another surprising context for an object every single day, and he credits his childhood imagination – when he first saw broccoli as a tree and the edge of a tatami mat as a path between rice fields – with giving him the right frame of mind to see the world in miniature form.

^{‘Way home’ by Tatsuya Tanaka, via Miniature Calendar}

Tanaka is not alone in his tiny world, either, as other artists such as UK-based Slinkachu have brought attention to the format through street art installations and books.

^{‘Bookshelf’ by Tatsuya Tanaka, via Miniature Calendar}

Tanaka’s own book of photographs, Miniature Life, can be purchased online and ships worldwide.

^{‘Celebration’ by Tatsuya Tanaka, via Miniature Calendar}

Gigglebit is Siliconrepublic.com’s daily dose of the funny and fantastic in science and tech, to help start your day on a lighter note.