Tatsuya Tanaka is a unique artist. His art is beautiful, colorful and full of life – but what really makes it special is its size. For the past nine years, Tanaka has been making miniature dioramas.
Tanak’s dioramas don’t depict grand events or remarkable people. His focus is on everyday life. He uses his medium to showcase people swimming in the pool, competing in sport, dancing. He will sometimes dabble with the fantastical, and create a miniature version of Aladdin on his magical carpet – but mostly, he likes to focus on the magic of the mundane.
It’s not just Tanaka’s medium or his subjects that are unusual. Even the materials he uses to create his dioramas are untraditional. Instead of using clay, metal, paper, or any other raw material that is usually used to create dioramas and sculptures of any size, Tanaka uses everyday materials. A blue icicle can be an ocean, and a yellow one can be a beach; An old CD becomes a skating rink.
Tanaka’s miniatures are charming not only because they are meticulously made, but because they focus on all the moments we’re used to ignoring on a daily basis, the simple materials that surround us and we discard so easily, and the moments that can be awe-inspiring is we only pay attention.
