Beautiful synchronicity led me to the International Channel where I saw a quickie documentary on artist Takayuki Mitsushima. Mitsushima creates his work using nothing but colored sticky tape on white paper, meticulously cutting each strip and shape by hand and placing them on the page to create wonderfully abstract, yet recognizable images with depth and bold color.

Mitsushima has been blind since age ten.

He relies only on his sense of touch and vague, fading memories of what he was able to see in his youth. Gripping work. This piece is a favorite of mine…it’s titled “When I Kick the Ball”.

Mitsushima is currently expanding his work to what he’s dubbed “Tactile Renga”, a process where his work is scanned into computers, then output in various forms, including thermal embossing. Inspirational and arresting stuff.

About the Author

John C. Hughes

John C. Hughes began his Lost in the ’80s blog in 2005 and is now proud to be a member of the Popdose family, where he’s introduced LIT80s’s companions, the obviously named Lost in the ’70s and Lost in the ’90s, alongside the slightly more originally named Why You Should Like…

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