Profile
Massa AquaFlow
artist / graphic designer / organizer based in Okinawa island, Japan.
His artistic motifs center around Letters and Clouds.
Letters are defined by structured rules, schemes, and meanings,
while Clouds flow with unrestricted formation or meaning.
Through his exploration of these motifs, he seeks to understand the essence of freedom and empathy.
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Born in Japan in 1978, he relocated to Okinawa Island in 2003,
where he embarked on a self-taught artistic journey in his mid-20s after moving from the Tokyo area to Okinawa.
In the early stages of his career, he dedicated himself to creating flyers for local music events
with the belief ‘Flyers in cities are a competition for designers’.
It was during this period that he developed his distinctive hand-drawn style.
From around 2015 onwards, his hand-drawn typography and cloud illustrations gained acclaim,
leading to commissions for posters, cover art, logos, and murals both domestically and internationally.
In recent years, he has focused intensively on cloud paintings.
His ‘Camo & Cloud’ series, featuring clouds painted on camouflage canvas crafted from military uniforms,
has garnered attention abroad, with works featured in an artzine distributed during the 2024 Paris Fashion Week show (Maison Mihara Yasuhiro).
Reflecting on his experiences,
he emphasizes that the core value he has embraced from his experiences and time on Okinawa Island is “Diversity.”
CV
Massa AquaFlow (he/him)
real name: HIRANO Masaaki
Living place: Okinawa, Japan
EDUCATION
June 2022 – present, Super School A&E (Art & Edit) by Shigeo Goto
Apr. 1996 – Mar.1999, Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS), Chiba, Japan,
Department of English and American Languages, Comparative Culture Course
Apr. 1994 – Mar.1996, Seibu Gakuen Bunri High School, English Course
LANGUAGES
Japanese: Native
English: Upper-intermediate
Spanish: Elementary
SELECTED
Selected as 1 of 12 Japanese poster artists by Rene Wanner, a poster collector, on his Pinterest collection.
(Selected Japanese artists: Tadanori Yokoo, Kiyoshi Awazu, Shigeo Fukuda, Yusaku Kamekura, Kazumasa Nagai, Rockin Jelly Beans, U.G. Sato, Takashi Akiyama, Ikko Tanaka, Shin Matsunaga, Tadashi Ueda, and Massa AquaFlow.)
PUBLISHED
“Doirobuta”, Maison Mihara Yasuhiro, Art free paper, Paris Fasion Week 2024
EXHIBITIONS
SOLO EXHIBITION
Dec. 2025 mini exhibition at Camp Foster Library (within U.S. military bases in Okinawa)
Nov. 2025 Kickoff Party and Exhibition for the journey to Exhibition in Washington D.C., PRIMEWAV, Okinawa, Japan.
Sep. 2025 solo exhibition “BORN & FLOW 2025”, Art Gallery in Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum, Okinawa, Japan.
Apr. 2025, Public production “I’m Here”, Arcart Gallery, Nakagusuku Village, Okinawa, Japan
Mar. 2025, solo exhibition, “Share Your Timeless Visions”, Timeless Chosolate, Chatan, Okinawa, Japan
Nov. 2024, One piece exhibition, “10 days with The World Is Yours”, Blanc base, Chatan, Okinawa, Japan.
July 2024, solo exhibition “BORN & FLOW”, Art Gallery in Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum, Okinawa, Japan.
2023, one-month tiny exhibitions “pieces of clouds hanging on the wall”, Okinawa, Japan
-12 exhibitions during six months at different 11 shops.
May 2022, FUTENMA & CLOUD, NewFutenma Barbershop, Okinawa, Japan
Aug. 2020, Creators Circuit – Massa AquaFlow Poster exhibiton, Okuma Private Beach & Resort, Okinawa, Japan (Graphic Design / Poster Works)
Aug. 2019, Massa AquaFlow Poster Exhibition, Pin-up Gallery, Okinawa, Japan (Graphic Design / Poster Works)
GROUP EXHIBITION
May. 2025, Group Exhibition, “Record Frame Exhibition”, Naminoue Music, Naha, Okinawa, Japan
May. 2025, Twos artists exxhibition, “Clouds in the Heads”, Pine Leaves Coffee & Bake, Yomitan, Okinawa, Japan
Dec. 2024, Two artist exhibition, Ligh Up A Corner, Chisou Gallery, Naha, Okinawa, Japan
Nov. 2024, Two artists popup show, Pop Wave, Blanc Base, Chatan, Okinawa, Japan
Oct. 2024, Record Frame Exhibition, Stashstore, Chatan, Okinawa, Japan.
Sep. 2024, Cloud9, Lestel Hotel, Naha, Okinawa, Japan.
Apr. 2019, Dub Revolution, karabashi, Kanagawa, Japan (Graphic Design / Poster Works)
Sep. 2018, Dub Revolution, Gallery 5610, Tokyo, Japan (Graphic Design / Poster Works)
June. 2018, Skate and Create, Stockroom Gallery, Okinawa, Japan
OTHER ACTIVITIES
Host: music lounge and fine night market Slow Down, vol.1-vol.6, 2016 – 2017, Okinawa, Japan
Host: Peace Music Fest! Henoko 07, 2007, Okinawa, Japan
Host: Peace Music Fest! Henoko 06, 2006, Okinawa, Japan
Statement
A long time has passed, and I came to know
how to live thanks to Letters and Clouds.
Read the statement at page here,
or go through the tabel of contents below.
thank you.
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table of contents
of the statement
– Letters and Clouds. I draw them, searching their personality and freedom.
–Seeing the letters live in their own lives.
–Clouds are Living Things.
–Interests in the society. Led by art and music.
–One day, I happened to draw clouds on a camouflage US military uniforms.
–But I am also afraid of “Camouflage and Clouds.”
–Conclusion for a while.
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