Matsuri

Concept

My name is Sayaka Fukumoto.
In 2017, I started studying drawing and painting by myself. I was a photographer, and I printed my photographs on canvas and painted my character “Akampo the Cat”.
“Akampo” has a concept. All people have an Akampo, and Akampo is always with you. Akampo doesn’t cheer you up, but when you are mad or sad, he says “It’s okay”. Akampo wants to see you smile.
In 2018, I joined some exhibitions with my “Akampo the Cat” works in New York and I joined many art shows in the US, and France. A lot of my inspiration comes from pop art and movies. When I was a kid, I watched many movies. I said “I want to design movie posters!” I worked as a photographer, and learned video work skills. I’m always trying to learn something new!
In 2019, I stayed at an artists’ residence in France, where I learned new painting skills. After coming back to Japan, I started to study oil painting by myself. I have another dream from childhood. I stayed in Europe for a long time when I was a kid, and my family took me to many museums. I was very moved when looking at many of the classic paintings. And I said, “I want to be a court painter!”.
And now, I want to portray modern scenes and themes through classical style oil painting, and with “Akampo the Cat”.