Shinjuku (2019)
Ever since discovering the beauty and versatility of stationery store-bought dot stickers in art school, for over 10 years Japanese artist Yukino Ohmura has been using them to create dazzling nightscapes of Tokyo, Osaka and other major Asian cities. We featured her work back in 2014, but decided to catch up with her to see how her art is progressing.
Shibuya Station in the 1970s (left) and today (right, 2020)
Since graduating from art school in 2013, Ohmura has not only been creating her own art but has been traveling domestically and internationally, staging workshops and teaching the gospel of sticker art.
Ohmura uses generic dot stickers available from most stationery stores. They come in a variety of colors and sizes. For those looking to try their hand at sticker art, Ohmura has created a starter kit that she sells online (Japanese only).
As it turns out, these circular dot stickers are perfect for illustrating the nighttime blur, a photographic technique known as bokeh that coincidentally originates from the Japanese word meaning blur. With an eye for framing and composition, Ohmura skillfully lays out thousands of these dots to create mesmerizing nightscapes. For those in Tokyo right now, Ohmura’s work is part of a group exhibition at Daikanyama Hillside Terrace (on view through 9/27/2020).
You can see more of her artwork on her tumblr site. You can keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.
Ohmura’s Her workshops typically consist of pre-outlined canvases, which the artist invites participants to populate.
Osaka (2020)
Shanghai (2015)
Abeno Harukas, Japan’s tallest skyscraper, in Osaka (2015)
Tokyo Sky Tree and the Tokyo Hotaru event (2015)
Yokohama (2020)
