Takashi Sugimoto

Works

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
— Auguries of Innocence
W.B.

Ouro Negro (Black Gold)
Feature Film & Photography Book (2024–2026)A cinematic and photographic dialogue exploring human hair as a global commodity, originating from a spiritual offering in a South Indian temple. The project weaves documentary observation with poetic reflections on faith, economy, and human existence.

Spiritus
Photography Book (2026)A photographic companion to the film Ouro Negro (Black Gold). Shot on black-and-white analog film, this book engages in dialogue with the film. The two works are akin to an exchange of letters. A visual meditation on the macrocosm hidden within the microcosm.

Live Tropical Fish
Short Film (2016)A cinematic exploration observing the delicate intersection of everyday life and inner landscapes. The film captures the fleeting poetry of mundane moments, reflecting the artist's ongoing inquiry into cognition and memory.

Live Tropical Fish
Multimedia Installation (2000)An early spatial exploration of cognition and archive. Consisting of lightbox photography, ambient sound, aquarium with live tropical fish and video projection, the installation required viewers to physically navigate a darkened church nave to uncover fragments of personal and collective memories. (Archival documentation from contemporary publication)

Continuidade: Eduardo Souto de Moura
Exhibition Videos / Garagem Sul, CCB (2016)Commissioned video works for the architecture exhibition Continuidade, featuring Pritzker Prize-winning architect Eduardo Souto de Moura. Constructed around the "window"—a conceptual approach proposed by the artist to, and fully entrusted by, the architect.

About

Takashi Sugimoto is a Japanese filmmaker and visual artist based in Portugal. Living in the West for nearly three decades, his practice reflects the perspective of inhabiting the space "between cultures." Through cinema and photography, he explores the intersections of cognition and memory, bridging the micro of everyday gestures with the macro of the cosmos. His poetic visual language examines the profound resonance between civilization, life, and spirituality.

Selected Awards & Honors
2024 Special Jury Prize, DOCS@PÖFF Competition, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Estonia
2024 Grand Prix, 33rd International Festival of Ethnological Film, Belgrade, Serbia
2001 Nominee, Premio Querini-FURLA per l'arte, Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venice, ItalyEducation
2016 Post-Graduate Diploma in Cinema Project Development, Specialization in Dramaturgy and Film Direction, Lisbon Theatre and Film School (ESTC), PortugalDownload Full CV (PDF)