Description
Sumo is a collaborative project between Photographer Tom Moran and Set Designer Nazuna Akao. The conversation started in February 2020 to create a still-life interpretation of Sumo and the project continued remotely during national lockdown, with Nazuna sending materials, sketches and instructions to Tom’s studio. It was finally completed in-person in early 2021.
The aim of the project is to distill and convey the forces of weight, strength, tension, power and release that occur in a Sumo bout. The materials used reflect the materials used in making a Sumo ring such as clay, ropes, and straw and also food as this is very important in providing the wrestlers with their energy. All sets were created without adhesives so in many of the images the distribution of weight and balance creates the tension between the objects which holds them together or apart.
The images were combined with text to create a fold-out Zine. Designer Rachel Bungey drew inspiration from old Sumo magazines from Japan, incorporating design elements to add another layer to the project. Japanese characters have been used to subtly link the text and images. The idea of the fold-out Zine is that it can be equally at home on the wall as on the bookshelf and is not only an aesthetic project but can also be informative.
