Sota Sakuma

Fantasizing

Sota Sakuma (* 1977, Aichi Prefecture, Japan) became more acquainted with the phenomenon of the Czech Puppet in one of the local galleries during his studies of Textile Design at the University of Tokyo (1996-2000). This coincidental encounter triggered his visit of distant Prague. The world of puppet theater affected him so deeply that it determined his next direction in life. He studied at the Department of Scenography of Alternative and Puppet Theater at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague under the guidance of stage designer and pedagogue Petr Matásek. Since 2000, Sota Sakuma has been living and working in Prague. Being influenced by Jiří Trnka’s tenderness and Jan Švankmajer‘ surrealism, Sota Sakuma takes only the essence of these inspirational sources and complements it with his own signature.

Since his childhood. Sota Sakuma has leaned to nature. The little boy was fascinated by the remarkable world of animals described in the encyclopedias and it kindled his lifelong desire to
discover the unknown. At the same time it led him to imagine the strangest and unseen creatures and beings. The author's mind started developing fantastic visions full of symbolism, which he now also captures on the canvas. Thanks to its originality, it creates a specific environment, its own reality within the painting, inhibited by beings from the world of the living and the dead. Any possible darkness is balanced by humor, grotesqueness and the kindest humanity, as seen in the exhibition itself. These little characters, acting seemingly like living human beings, come certainly not across with gross ridiculousness, but rather with subtle humor. Like us, they establish relationships out of a variety of situations. Both us and them, we have a lot in common, even though they are not really human. Sota Sakuma gives us the opportunity to look into the magical world of tiny creatures, miniature animals, bizarre monsters and enchanting plants and awakens in us a mindless perspective resembling child‘s innocence and trust. Anyone who has encountered a puppet or mask more closely in their life knows how challenging and
mysterious they can be. However, their secret is not in the rarity of the presented object. It lies in the possibility of searching for the hidden and in the constant transcending of any definition, because none of them expresses them in their complexity. Sota Sakuma's puppets are almost supernatural beings who have something archaic and magical inside. We would easily believe that when we don't look, they are coming alive.

The impact of Sota Sakuma's works lies in the connection of a poetic visual art with elaborate details and in perfect hand-crafted work. The author often emphasizes the importance of contradictions that enrich him, and he also works with humor and tension. Sota Sakuma's paintings blur the distinctions between the real and the ideal, the immanent or the transcendent, the factual or the symbolic. Instead, they offer a crack of truth between the work and the spectator as well as the joy of pure painting and the uniqueness of the image. The spectator experiences, listens, reads between the lines and reveals the signs of characters and symbols fully present in the author's work.

Text: Ela Suárez Illerias, Translation: Lucie Prisovska