September 18, 2016
Keita Sagaki
Take a closer look at Keita Sagaki's illustrations and you will find a number of densely-packed doodles.
The idea of being part of a wider whole is one familiar to everyone; each of us is, after all, only one in a global community of over seven billion. We are met with this idea every night when we look at the sky and contemplate the many far-flung galaxies. We know that continents are made up of countries, and matter is made up of molecules. Everything, it seems, is part of something bigger than itself.
This is a notion which informs and inspires the work of artist Keita Sagaki, whose illustrations are created from a number of densely-packed doodles. Sagaki reimagines iconic images - The Last Supper, Hokusai's Great Wave, and Mona Lisa, to name a few - and depicts celebrated sights from across the world, packing these familiar scenes with his characteristic, microscopic detail. the effect is at once disarming and mesmerizing, inviting viewers to lean in and reconsider. The intricacy of his illustrations - packed full of tiny people and animals - seems to require weeks and months and planning; but Sagaki assures that he draws directly onto white canvas, without the help of preliminary sketches. The concept behind his work is fascinating, and its demand for a moment of still observation is a refreshing one in today's fast-paced world.
