Japanese illustrator-chef Takayo Chiyota, aka “Tama-chan,” uses sushi as a canvas to create pieces of art.
She crafts sushi rolls into portraits of Tutankhamun, replicas of ‘The Scream’ by Edvard Munch, as well as other detailed images.
Artists spend hours perfecting their work, so imagine the agony of creating your artwork blind — having to roll it up and cut it into slices before seeing the finished product. That’s what Tokyo chef Tama-chan (also known as illustrator Takayo Chioyta) does, fashioning rice, fish and vegetables into stunning images framed in nori. “I never know what the inside looks like so I’m never sure if it will come out the way I imagined, and I can’t make edits when I’m done,” Chioyata told the Daily Mail.
She teaches sushi art workshops in Tokyo and always makes this promise to her students: “When you see that roll of rice, the thrill and excitement of not knowing what the picture will look like until you cut it is unbearable.”
