Pocko Gallery London is pleased to present Secret Lukewarm Pleasure, a solo exhibition by Japanese illustrator and animator Sawako Kabuki. The show arrives in London following its successful month-long run at Pocko Gallery Tokyo, which welcomed more than 500 visitors. Based between Tokyo and New York, Kabuki has become one of the most interesting female voices in contemporary animation and illustration. Her bold compositions unabashedly explore female sexuality, body image and social expectations.
Secret Lukewarm Pleasure: A solo show by Sawako Kabuki
Kabuki’s visual language draws on 1970s Japanese graphic-design aesthetics and the flattened spatial perspectives of ukiyo-e prints, brought together through her distinctive repetitions. Her humour is unmistakably her own — a disarming, inward-looking sensibility that folds awkwardness, desire and self-awareness into the same frame. The result is a candid yet emotionally precise exploration of vulnerability.Kabuki studied graphic design at Tama Art University before completing a master’s degree after a period working at a porn video company – an experience she has spoken about openly and which informs her frank, body-centred work. Her films have been selected and awarded at major international festivals including Annecy, Ottawa, Zagreb, Sundance and SXSW, establishing her as a distinctive voice in independent animation.
In 2023 she was named one of “100 Japanese People Who Caught the World’s Attention” by Courrier Japon.
About the Exhibition
Secret Lukewarm Pleasure marks the first London solo exhibition of Japanese illustrator and animator Sawako Kabuki, following its successful month-long run at Pocko Gallery Tokyo, where it welcomed more than 500 visitors. The exhibition brings together a selection of Kabuki’s recent works that explore intimacy, desire and the expressive possibilities of the female body with humour, candour and emotional clarity. Her bold compositions and saturated palettes reveal a visual language that is at once playful and unflinching.
Pocko Gallery London
Across illustration, animation stills and short looping sequences, Kabuki examines the complexity of pleasure, vulnerability, self-image and the private rituals that shape contemporary womanhood.The exhibition highlights the directness and honesty that have made her a distinctive voice within Japan’s new generation of artists working across animation and visual culture.
About the Artist
Sawako Kabuki is a Japanese illustrator and animator based between Tokyo and New York. She is recognised for her uncompromising approach to themes often left unspoken—female sexuality, self-perception and the social expectations surrounding the body. Her work combines bold graphic lines, mischievous characters and rhythmic sequences that blur the line between humour and confession.Kabuki’s animations have been screened internationally, and her illustrations have been commissioned by cultural institutions, magazines and brands. With a growing global following, she has become one of the most compelling female voices in contemporary Japanese animation. Pocko Gallery presents exhibitions by international artists exploring illustration, animation, photography and emerging visual practices.
