BREATH INTO THE CARTHRIDGE - Shun Okada : Sato Gallery - Paris

16 May - 13 June 2024

Shun Okada, born in 1992 in Tōkai, got introduced to art at the period of high school, ironically during a moment of complete school refusal, which was  spent at home gaming, watching anime and drawing favourite characters.  

Shun later went to art school in Tokyo and developed his own unique approach: the replica of a glitched screen, specifically of the NES (Famicom). 

The distinctive feature of his artworks lies in its peculiar relationship between digital and analog. This approach reflects not only his status as a digital native but also the strong influence of his childhood spent in the natural surroundings of Tōkai.

Holding Japanese life and spaces in high regard, Shun works from a 6 - tatami room; the most standard living space for Japanese people and therefore the ultimate reality for someone locked inside that space creating. To him, there is a natural connection to the size of a room, the appearance of the screen, and the motifs in his work. 

What's even more intriguing is that Shun, born in 1992, has chosen to focus on the theme of the NES (Famicom), a phenomenon that had a major boom in the 1980s. While exuding an overwhelming power through meticulous brushwork, Okada's artworks evoke a sense of nostalgia.

 

Read more about Shun Okada in the interview