Taichi Yamane, a twenty-year-old artist in Tokyo, lifts the symbols out of animation and fixes them onto the face. In NCT WISH's "YO-I-DON!" music video, Yushi's glasses were crying. In the Sodeok campaign, orange flames poured from a model's mouth. A teardrop hung beneath an eye, fire issuing from a mouth, flowers and birds circling a face. Devices drawn to help the viewer understand become objects you can touch in the real world.
The materials are the UV gel and resin used on fingernails. It began in his high school art club, making nails to attach to a piece. During the pandemic lockdown he taught himself nail art, changing the way he cured the gel, learning form through trial and error. In one interview he said, "I want to have fun and refinement at the same time."
In four years that ambition has left the fingernails behind. It spread to glasses and headphones, lips, and on into fashion and K-pop. Visual devices that once expressed emotion in cartoons and animation now become real objects that build the image of music and brands. The conversion of flat signs into three-dimensional forms opens new expressive possibilities.
His work blurs the boundary between two dimensions and three. Exaggerated expressions possible only in animation, when fixed to a real face, produce a sensation both strange and familiar. For digital natives, cartoon symbols are already the language of daily life. Taichi Yamane is translating that language into forms you can touch.
The materials are the UV gel and resin used on fingernails. It began in his high school art club, making nails to attach to a piece. During the pandemic lockdown he taught himself nail art, changing the way he cured the gel, learning form through trial and error. In one interview he said, "I want to have fun and refinement at the same time."
In four years that ambition has left the fingernails behind. It spread to glasses and headphones, lips, and on into fashion and K-pop. Visual devices that once expressed emotion in cartoons and animation now become real objects that build the image of music and brands. The conversion of flat signs into three-dimensional forms opens new expressive possibilities.
His work blurs the boundary between two dimensions and three. Exaggerated expressions possible only in animation, when fixed to a real face, produce a sensation both strange and familiar. For digital natives, cartoon symbols are already the language of daily life. Taichi Yamane is translating that language into forms you can touch.
FAQ
Who is Taichi Yamane?
Taichi Yamane is a twenty-year-old Tokyo-based artist who transforms visual symbols from anime into tangible objects using UV gel and resin. Self-taught in nail art since high school, he now works in fashion and K-pop music videos.
What was Taichi Yamane's work in the NCT WISH YO-I-DON music video?
In NCT WISH's <YO-I-DON!> music video, member Yushi's glasses featured teardrop-shaped resin objects. This was Taichi Yamane's work, converting anime-style emotional expression symbols into real-world accessories.
What materials does Taichi Yamane work with?
Taichi Yamane primarily uses nail-art UV gel and resin. He taught himself techniques for creating forms through trial and error, experimenting with different ways of curing the gel.
