Profile
Massa AquaFlow
artist / graphic designer / organizer based in Okinawa island, Japan.
Letters have shape rules, schemes, and meanings.
Clouds form freely and don’t have any specific messages.
His motifs are Letters and Clouds. Drawing these motifs, he seeks what freedom and empathy are. His hand-drawn typography poster works have attracted attention internationally, especially in the reggae scene. Through “CAMO & CLOUD” series, in which he draws clouds over camouflage canvases made out of military uniforms used by American soldiers, he keeps trying to communicate with people in Okinawa, an island with the heavy burden of the US military bases.
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Born in Japan in 1978, moved to Okinawa island in 2003.
He started his self-taught artistic career in his mid-20s
after he had moved from the Tokyo area to Okinawa.
An island with the heavy burden of the US military base,
where he found local music (any genre) is connected to society as rebel music.
While interacting with various industries as a self-taught graphic designer,
he’s been curating music by organizing music events.
Also supporting the music scene by providing graphics.
Plus, He started his artist career in 2022 by painting clouds.
Through these, he communicates with Okinawan society
and communities of the street culture in Okinawa.
His signature works are hand-drawn typography music graphics,
and he provides them not only in Okinawa but overseas.
Another representative work is “Camo & Clouds”
which he started in earnest in 2022. In this series,
he draws clouds on camouflage canvas made from second-hand military clothes.
Both clouds and camouflage mean nothing.
However, when camouflage and clouds are layered,
viewers find messages that differ from each.
He says the most important value he learned from his activities and 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
2023, one-month tiny exhibitions “pieces of clouds hanging on the wall”, Okinawa, Japan
-12 exhibitions during May to Oct at different shops.
May 2022, FUTENMA & CLOUD, NewFutenma Barber shop, 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
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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