Gaku Tsutaja

Gaku Tsutaja harnesses painting, drawing, performance, video, and multimedia to illuminate the hidden scars of history, transforming trauma into haunting, immersive narratives. Her formative years were marked by two catastrophic events in Japan—the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake and the Tokyo subway sarin attack by the Aum Shinrikyō cult—which shaped her artistic approach and led her to investigate society’s darker undercurrents and the aftermath of collective trauma. Tsutaja combines meticulous research with creative storytelling, engaging communities and specialists to build layered narratives that resonate with wide audiences. After moving to New York, her practice expanded to explore World War II and the enduring socio-political and economic tensions between Japan and the United States. By employing anthropomorphized characters, immersive installations, and multimedia strategies, she creates work that intertwines historical inquiry with poetic imagination. Across all media, Tsutaja’s art illuminates the complex interplay between memory, history, and identity, encouraging reflection on how trauma persists, transforms, and shapes human experience. ...