Takunori Nakata

SimuReal

“SimuReal” features new media artworks by Artist-in-Residence Takunori Nakata. The exhibition includes prints, paintings, and videos exploring new forms of realism through the use of photogrammetry and AI technologies. Using photographs of dead animals, insects, and withered plants, Nakata interrogates algorithmic bias in technological representations of the natural world.

“…AI functions both as a Platonic ideal that reconstructs lost life and as a biased system shaped by algorithms and training data. Through the interaction between digital generation and embodied painting, I reconsider the relationship between realism and representation in contemporary society…”
— Takunori Nakata

Takunori Nakata creates surrealistic artworks employing digital tools like 3D graphics and image editing software. After earning his first bachelor's degree in Media Science, he studied at Tama Art University in Japan, where he completed a second bachelor's degree and a master's degree, both in oil painting. His work has been exhibited at Kitamura Camera Space Lucida (Tokyo), the Hongik Museum of Art (Seoul), and ANB Tokyo (Tokyo). Takunori was selected for the Shell Art Award in 2010.

Gerbera, 2022
LEFT: UV inkjet print on polarized paper, 58.2 × 46.5 cm
RIGHT: Oil on organza, 91.0 × 72.7 cm

Sunflower & Rainbow Mum, 2022-2023
LEFT: UV inkjet print on polarized paper, 61.0 × 49.0 cm
RIGHT: Oil on organza, 100.0 × 80.3 cm

Spray Chrysanthemum, 2025
LEFT: AI-generated animation, TRT: 10 seconds
RIGHT: Oil on organza, 80.3 × 80.3 cm

Sparrow, 2025/2026
LEFT: AI-generated animation, TRT: 10 seconds
RIGHT: Oil on organza, 65.2 × 91.0 cm

About the Work

I have been exploring a new form of realism through the use of photogrammetry. For me, realism refers to an expression that compresses multiple perspectives and multiple timelines into a single image, similar to the multi-viewpoint structure of Cubism or the multi-temporal vision found in the work of Antonio López.

My process begins with arranging flowers in a vase and photographing them from various angles over time until they wither. Based on these images, I perform photogrammetry to generate objects that embody both multiple perspectives and multiple timelines. By allowing the camera lens and computer algorithms to intervene in the process, I intentionally reduce the degree of my own idealized manipulation. The generated objects are then refined using 3D software; however, a single output does not constitute a finished work.

In my current practice, I extend this exploration of realism through the use of AI. I photograph dead animals, insects, and withered plants found near my home, and use AI to generate videos that rewind them to a state before death. By combining frames from these AI-generated videos with photographs of the actual subjects taken from multiple angles, I examine the complex layered relationships between reality, representation, time, perspective, and generation itself.

Here, AI functions both as a Platonic ideal that reconstructs lost life and as a biased system shaped by algorithms and training data. Through the interaction between digital generation and embodied painting, I reconsider the relationship between realism and representation in contemporary society.

— Takunori Nakata