Neo Territory II, 2017

Daisuke Tajima  

Born in 1993 in Nara, Japan, Daisuke Tajima has established himself as one of the most singular figures on the contemporary Japanese art scene, developing a monumental graphic universe where contemporary drawing, urban art , science fiction , Japanese manga , cyberpunk, and architectural imagination converge. A 2015 graduate of the sculpture department at Aichi University of the Arts, he furthered his training with a study period in Taiwan, a pivotal experience in shaping his visual language.

Daisuke Tajima's work is characterized by the almost exclusive use of pen and black ink , with which he composes immense, meticulously detailed fictional cityscapes. His compositions, based on exaggerated perspective and a dizzying accumulation of detail, evoke futuristic megacities, labyrinthine architecture, and imaginary territories where human density, solitude, and collective memory coexist. The artist acknowledges the influence of classic American science fiction films, Japanese animation, and the visual universes of major works such as Akira and Ghost in the Shell, as well as his repeated travels to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China.

His work explores the relationship between the individual and the contemporary city, addressing themes such as information overload, isolation, globalization, and the ongoing transformation of Asian urban landscapes. By constructing his images as three-dimensional structures, he develops a unique approach to monumental drawing, pushing the traditional boundaries of two-dimensional representation.

Daisuke Tajima has received several major awards early in his career, including the Grand Prize of the Tokyo Midtown Award in 2015, the Yukie Kamiya Prize at the Art Award Tokyo Marunouchi the same year, and the Special Prize of the Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art in 2019. These awards recognize an innovative artistic practice at the crossroads of sculpture, drawing and urban imagination.

Among his most important solo exhibitions are A City of Anger and Pressure at LAD Gallery in Aichi (2015), Flying Above Forced Isolation at Above Second in Hong Kong (2017), This is My Territory at the ex-chamber museum in Tokyo (2020), DIVE TO THE CHAOTIC TERRITORY at Der-Horng Art Gallery in Tainan (2021), OPERATION BLACK at the ex-chamber museum in Tokyo (2022), and To the World Different From Yesterday presented at DH Neology in Tainan in 2024.

Her work has also been featured in numerous major group exhibitions, including the VOCA Exhibition at the Ueno Royal Museum in Tokyo (2017), Extra City+ at Der-Horng Art Gallery in Tainan (2019), CONNECTIONS at Over the Influence in Hong Kong (2020), PERSONA at Gallery HZ in Hong Kong (2020), and Sediments Memory at Square Street Gallery in Hong Kong (2023). In 2022, the publication of her first monograph, BEYOND THE LINES, by Seigensha, confirmed her growing influence on the Asian art scene.

Today, Daisuke Tajima pursues an international practice between Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong, asserting a unique aesthetic where contemporary drawing, imaginary architecture, Japanese cyberpunk, futuristic cities and Asian visual culture come together to build worlds of exceptional narrative power.