V&A

TOKYO IN LONDON

In May 2024 Sam Wilde and collaborative maker Naing Lin Oo created the automaton sculpture Deepstaria umbra for the V&A as part of their first ever major creative installation at the Young V&A. 
The indoor exhibition takes visitors on a whimsical journey through Kasa-obake Alley in the museum’s main hall. Where umbrellas lost on London’s trains, tubes and buses have been transformed by an array of contemporary artists into a joyous ‘parade’ of yōkai sculptures.
Sam Wilde's umbrella Yokai sculpture features in the advertising campaign for the Young V&A at Bethnal Green.
Sam Wilde's Deepstaria umbra sculpture hangs in the main hall as part of a Japanese exhibition at the Young V&A.
PARANORMAL PARADE

The installation draws from traditions of yōkai, a class of supernatural beings and entities that abound in Japanese folklore, literature, art and popular culture, in particular, the kasa-obake or umbrella monster. 
These playful spirits are a type of tsukumogami, everyday objects that receive a spirit and find new life as yōkai on their 100th birthday.

Sam Wilde looks up towards the umbrella sphere sculpture Deepstaria umbra that he created for an exhibition at the V&A.