NandaHobbs

Yoshio Honjo

Australia

Yoshio Honjo’s intricate paintings fuse contemporary consumerism with ancient Japanese fairy tales. Echoing his 20-year Yakuza-style tattooing practice, his work is unique—blending traditional pigments on handmade Washi paper. Straddling cultural paradigms, his edgy, urban aesthetic contrasts with his deep reverence for Japanese mythology, which extends beyond the generic Japonisme popularized since Japan’s 1850s opening to Western trade.

His work contemporizes tradition while preserving Japanese methodologies. Figures and serpents intertwine, flowing like tattoos, while patterns morph into forms, creating an ethereal interplay. The natural world, central to the Japanese psyche, is ever-present. At its core, Honjo’s art reveals opposing forces from imagined realms—mythologies that transcend history, leaping from the page into our world.