Maru Yacco
Born:
1968 in Shizuoka prefecture, Japan
Lives in:
Tokyo, Japan
Maru Yacco, a Tokyo-based artist, crafts a universe filled with performances, drag, cosplay, and multimedia elements. Her artistry transcends traditional mediums, encapsulating the vast trans universe. Yacco‘s works, vibrant with distinctive characters and stories, manifest across various forms—from books to murals. Her “cute-ification” approach demonstrates the boundless scope of queering, merging fantasy and creation. Infused with Japanese pop culture and folklore, her pieces touch on identity, sexuality, and gender, striking a balance between whimsy and depth. A cornerstone of the LGBTQ+ art scene of Japan and Asia, Yacco‘s work not only challenges societal norms but also exuberantly uplifts diversity and inclusion.
Maru Yacco at the Art Gallery of New South Wales for the 24th Biennale of Sydney (2024) Media Preview. Photograph: Dan Boud.
Maru Yacco at the Art Gallery of New South Wales for the 24th Biennale of Sydney (2024) Media Preview. Photograph: Dan Boud.
Maru Yacco. Courtesy of the artist.
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Sydney parade 2024
acrylic
Commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney with generous support from the National Center for Art Research, Japan
Courtesy the artist
In Maru Yacco’s Sydney parade, silhouetted figures appear like a troupe of dancers on a stage. Playing with ideas of hyper-masculinity and exaggerated femininity, the characters act as avatars.
Yacco creates worlds full of whimsical, gender-fluid characters, informed by Japanese popular and subcultures. Often delving into ideas around genderless reproduction and alternative family structures, Yacco – a prominent figure in the Japanese trans community – challenges assumptions while reflecting on contemporary ideas of identity construction in the age of social media.