Mio Okazaki
JAPAN
Born in 1995 in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Graduated from the Department of Visual Communication Design at Musashino Art University, then joined the editorial department of Weekly Pro Wrestling at Baseball Magazine Inc. Responsible for the irregular series “Togei,” which combines art and pro wrestling. Currently, after resigning, creating many works themed around pro wrestling.
2019: Musashino Art University Graduation Project Excellence Award
2021: 1st ARTIST NEW GATE Kenta Nakajima Award & Liquitex Award
2023: Weekly Pro Wrestling 40th Anniversary Commemorative T-shirt Design
2024: METROCK’24 Scratch T-shirt Design
Comment I fell in love with pro wrestling during high school, and after graduating from university, I worked as a reporter for Weekly Pro Wrestling until 2021, handling interviews and art projects. I designed a commemorative T-shirt for the magazine’s 40th-anniversary project. Pro wrestling and martial arts are surrounded by spectators 360 degrees around the ring, with different views from each seat. Each seat and perspective has its own beauty and intensity of the fight, which I express using Cubism techniques to depict the charm of pro wrestling and martial arts that cannot be conveyed through photos or videos. Cubism, represented by Picasso and Braque, is an old technique that captures the shape of an object from various angles in one picture. By combining it with pro wrestling, sometimes incorporating cheers and sounds, I depict my love for pro wrestling across the entire canvas.