Taro Yakumo is an artist who developed his sensibility in an environment deeply connected to art, being raised by an art dealer father and a metal engraver mother. His encounter with music further intensified his interest in expression, and through experiences in both domestic and international art scenes—particularly in Korea—he has established a distinctive visual language that challenges existing value systems.
Incorporating visual vocabularies derived from technology and subculture—such as floppy disks, video game cartridges, and smartphone interfaces—Yakumo creates works characterized by vivid colors and flat, graphic compositions. By layering symbolic motifs and fragments of information, he constructs visual experiences that are at once playful and critically engaging.
His practice centers on themes of digital-era memory, nostalgia, and the instability of identity within an information-saturated society. In the Floppy series, he recontextualizes obsolete technologies alongside subcultural imagery, while the #hashtag series examines the consumption and circulation of language in the age of social media. Through collage works and paintings based on game cartridges, he continuously re-edits existing images to generate new meanings and perceptual experiences.
In recent years, Yakumo has expanded his practice across multiple series, deepening his exploration of the relationship between pop culture and contemporary society. In 2025–2026, he presented a solo exhibition as part of SHIKISAISHA’s “Art ENCOUNTERS” vol.9 at SHABA, alongside a parallel presentation at OMIYA ART WALL, creating a spatially expanded platform for reinterpreting cultural memory.
Grounded in his belief that “art is entertainment,” Yakumo’s practice reactivates shared cultural symbols, transforming embedded emotions, desires, and nostalgia into forms that can be experienced anew.