In her series Wanderlust, Kanako Sasaki explores her own imaginative world influenced by traditional Japanese novels, Ukiyo-e paintings and childhood memories. Within her surreal and eccentric settings, Sasaki’s characters, usually herself, evoke ideas of isolation, escape and uninhibited freedom. The juxtaposition of bleak emotion within a fantastical landscape leaves the viewer mesmerized with wonderment. Sasaki’s work also comments on issues such as the female experience, loss of innocence, hopeless romance and how Japanese culture is viewed from the outside.