The “mettta” project began with the question “Who are we on social media?” and has evolved to examine issues of identity surrounding media, culture, and gender. Led by Hannah Janz, then head of the media department at Goethe-Institut Tokyo, Michael Facius, an Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo researching identity and social media, and aliwen, a non-binary Chilean-Italian artist and curator, the project has developed multidimensionally, interweaving various aspects of contemporary identity formation by bringing together artists and researchers from diverse backgrounds.

The “metttafestival,” held on October 1-2, 2022, featured art exhibitions, performances, workshops, talks, and a philosophy café, creating a space for dialogue and reflection on digital and offline identities from both academic and artistic perspectives. The project also launched the Instagram account @metttazzzine, which published interviews with digital natives. This book, metttasphere, compiles these efforts of many years as well as newly invited contributions into three sections: “PART I Mediated identities,” “PART II Terroir: Migrations/ translations,” and “PART III Queer & disabled post-identities.”

Designed by Daisuke Kano, the book features text printed in risograph and photographs and artworks in offset, bound using coptic binding. Spanning 424 bilingual pages with contributions by 21 writers, it explores keywords including social media, transnationality, language, queerness, and accessibility. Through reading metttasphere, readers will confront the urgency of living under varying circumstances and encounter the joys and difficulties of crossing cultural, linguistic, and gender-related boundaries. The book encourages us to imagine and engage with others afresh and reconsider what is often taken for granted in contemporary society.

With contributions by aliwen, Anais-karenin, Flavia Baldari, Mark Bookman, Michael Facius, Marie Hahne, Kazuhiko Hiwa, Naoko Hosokawa, Hannah Janz, Sota Kodera, Ginga Kondo, Kai Maetani, Shohei Miyachi, Chloe Paré, Angus James Schaefer, Jude Schofield, Tomoko Shimizu, Maria Telegina, Yuki Terada, An Huy Tran, Senthuran Varatharajah