Shun Yonaha: TA･TA･TARO 2023

During his studies Shun Yonaha developed a deep passion for folkloric music and spent a year in Bolivia immersing himself in traditional South American music. Upon returning to Japan, he experienced a period of psychological difficulty, during which he spent 10 years compiling his thoughts into what he calls his “Brain Notes.” In 2013, he began creating art in earnest, developing an improvisational style that fuses text and imagery. He has since gained domestic and international attention, and in 2021, one of his pieces was acquired by the Centre Pompidou (the national museum for modern art of France).

Yonaha’s colorful paintings feature intricate motifs and text rendered in oil-based markers and ballpoint pens, covering the entire canvas. These are rooted in the social conditions, concerns, and associations he captures from his experiences. In recent years, he has expanded his range of expression to include formats like wall art.

For this work shown at Tokyo Station—the gateway to Tokyo—Yonaha will display a large-format print of the major work TA･TA･TARO (2023) on the floor surface in front of Daimaru Tokyo Store at the Yaesu North Exit, where many people constantly pass through. The artist states, “I’ve made thought, ideas, emotion, love, friendship—all things vital to a living human—coexist simultaneously on a single sheet of paper.” His expression and desire to travel across the world from the American continent to the Eurasian continent with his own “meaning of ART”, makes us connect his work to a grand scale.

Sponsor: Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores Co, Ltd.
Cooperation: East Japan Railway Company

Reference Image: TA･TA･TARO, 2023 (detail)  ©Shun Yonaha