Hello. I’m Tanis Nikana (she/her), a photographer based in Portland, OR.

Matsuri Machi is a celebration of my childhood, idealized and seen through the lens of mixed media: traditional Japanese gaming components, alongside lego, to create a vibrant and cozy fantasy village, set atop a traditional Japanese dining table. It strongly features themes of friendship, queer relationships, and feelings of cozy fantasy. It’s inspired by the dense works of Andreas Gursky, and informed by Hayao Miyazaki and Katamari Damacy.

I had a few friends help me a bit on lighting and storytelling when I realized, on my fourth attempt at doing this, that I may have been over my head. There were seven hundred takes over seven shoots, spaced over two days to give a variated feeling of weather and the advancement of time. Editing is still ongoing; these are just the first of the series.

This project was shot with a Canon EOS Rebel T7, with an 18mm-55mm lens at approximately f/5.5, but some shots went as high as f/14.

Eventually, my wife asked if we could use the dining table for food again, and I said sure.

Please enjoy Matsuri Machi; we worked hard on it. I hope it inspires feelings of peace and longing.