Takaya Mukai (b. 1991) is an artist from Osaka. He takes as his subject the essential self that has been unconsciously shaped by a repressed psyche, and explores the tension and psychological functions brought about by intimate and personal experiences such as loneliness and trauma.

In the series [Solitary Garden and Room Night], he deliberately placed himself in an environment where he could no longer avert his gaze from the issues he had long avoided cutting off information and connections to the outside world in order to confront and resolve the internal struggles that had continued to bind him. What is depicted in the works is a psychological struggle to kill the self that had been held captive. 

Rather than exposing a narrative, he aims to appeal to the emotions and impressions surrounding the theme. Abstract themes and symbols emerge within the story, taking shape in the unfolding of the artist’s confession.