Kami #63 and Kami #62 (2020) installation view at Seibu Shibuya

Yoshino Momo is a Tokyo-based artist and painter who renders architectural optical illusions on flat canvases. Her “Kami” (or paper) series, which she began in 2014, is inspired by the the Japanese art of origami and skillfully replicates the lines and shadows that emerge from folded paper.

Kami #65 and Kami #66 (2020) installation view at Seibu Shibuya

Momo Yoshino began her studies at Tama Art University. After graduating, she spent time as an exchange student at London’s Royal Academy of Arts, before returning to Japan to finish her MFA at Tokyo University of the Arts in 2015.

In her Kami series, which was recently on display in a group exhibition at Seibu Shibuya (July 14 – August 10, 2020), Yoshino shades her paintings from the top to mimic the light source in the gallery. This emphasises the visual trick and subsequent surprise when the viewer steps to the side of the artwork, revealing that it is, in fact, a flat painting.

You can see more of Yoshino’s work on her website, and keep up with her on Instagram.

Kami #65 (2020) installation view at Seibu Shibuya

Kami #33 -3 (2019)

Kami #60 (2019)

Kami #34 -2 (2019)

Kami #58 -bloom- (2019)

Kami #53 -bloom- (2018)