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Artist Creates Miniature ‘Tokyo Olympic Games’ Scenes Using Face Masks and Figurines

By Emma Taggart on July 23, 2021

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games were postponed last year because of COVID-19, but the highly anticipated Opening Ceremony is finally due to go ahead on July 23, 2021. The event will be the first major global gathering since the global pandemic began. However, with social distancing measures in place, it will look a lot different than previous years. Just 1,000 spectators will be present at the 68,000-seat Olympic Stadium.

Despite public gatherings being kept to a minimum, people at home are still able to celebrate the special event in their own way. Japanese artist Tatsuya Tanaka marked the occasion by sharing Olympic Games-themed miniature art. Tanaka has been making daily scenes from household objects and tiny figurines for almost a decade. His ongoing Miniature Calendar series showcases the artist’s boundless imagination, and his most recent, Olympics-themed works are no exception.

Tanaka cleverly used medical face masks to represent different surfaces and equipment you’d expect to see at the Olympic Games. In one image, he turns a blue mask into a swimming pool by lining up tiny swimmer figurines posed to look as though they’re about to dive in. The folds in the fabric mask even create natural swimming lanes. In another work, Tanaka used a green mask and runner figurines to create a race track scene, and he even managed to turn another mask into a miniature high jump bar.

Check out Tanaka’s Olympics-themed miniature art below. If you’re inspired to watch the Opening Ceremony, live coverage starts at 8:00 PM in Japan, and 6:55 AM ET / 3:55 AM PT in the U.S.