tatsuya tanaka creates escapist miniature scenes from face masks and household items

every day since 2011, artist tatsuya tanaka has been creating pocket-sized scenes of everyday life as part of his ‘miniature calendar’. ‘in the early days, I created these scenes for the purposes of photographing my collection of diorama dolls,’ tanaka told designboom in an exclusive interview in 2016. however, in recent months, the artist’s work has responded to the lockdowns and social distancing measures brought in as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. one particular series of images, which was featured on designboom’s instagram in july 2020, sees face masks — a symbol of the pandemic — turned into a swimming pool, undulating waves, and a volleyball net.

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by designboom magazine (@designboom) on Jul 20, 2020 at 11:25am PDT

tatsuya tanaka’s other recent scenarios see rolls of toilet paper transformed into steam trains and ski slopes, while bread beds and brush showers highlight the newfound significance of our domestic environments. ‘it is important that the ‘miniature calendar’ is understandable in its intention for everyone – young and old, of any nationality,’ tanaka told us in 2016. ‘so I try to use familiar things and address familiar matters.’ see more scenes in the images below and follow the artist on instagram for daily updates.

all images © tatsuya tanaka

project info:

name: miniature calendar
artist: tatsuya tanaka