In the ℏ Series, silicon wafers—semiconductors prior to being cut into IC chips—are crushed and used as material. Semiconductors, while foundational to modern information society, are developed through the application of properties from the microscopic world that are difficult for humans to comprehend. The series attempts to express the unsettling reality that such counterintuitive phenomena form the basis of our society, and that the components constituting the world we live in are fundamentally elusive and beyond full human understanding.

The act of crushing the semiconductor is positioned as a process of reverting a human-defined “product” back into fragments and powder—into “material.” This not only strips the semiconductor of its function, which symbolizes convenience and efficiency, but also stems from an interest in humanity’s tendency to simplify reality and rely on imprecise interpolations.

The title includes the symbol “ℏ” (pronounced “h-bar”), which refers to the reduced Planck constant, or Dirac constant—a physical constant frequently appearing in quantum mechanical calculations. It implies the existence of indivisible minimum units in the physical world and symbolizes the strange and unique properties of the microscopic realm. By incorporating this symbol into the title, the series signals its engagement with a perspective rooted in quantum mechanics.