About

My work explores the themes of death, the fragility of life, and the uncertainty of existence—concepts that draw from my personal experiences, such as surviving cardiac arrest and the loss of my wife. These events greatly reshaped my worldview, compelling me to confront the universal reality of mortality and to delve into the deeper questions it raises.

To visualize these themes, I employ a technique in which I mount black paper onto a board and draw using watercolor pencils. The inherent delicacy of the paper serves as a metaphor for life’s transience, while the watercolor pencil technique lends a touch that seems to emerge from the darkness. Through this subtle interplay of material and process, I seek to evoke both the fragility and the quiet persistence of human existence.

My reflections are influenced by Buddhist teachings on emptiness (五蘊皆空) and the impermanence of all things (諸行無常), as well as the Western traditions of memento mori and vanitas—both of which underscore the fleeting nature of life. By weaving these philosophies together, I aim to prompt a heightened awareness of our shared mortality and to encourage a deeper contemplation of what it means to exist.

In contemporary society, reevaluating the meaning of life and the essence of death remains a pertinent inquiry for many. Through my work, I hope to provide a space for silence and introspection, inviting viewers to ponder the significance of their own existence in the face of life’s unavoidable uncertainties.

私の作品は、死、生命の儚さ、そして存在の不確実性といったテーマを探求しています。これらのテーマは、心停止を乗り越えた経験や、妻を失ったことなど、私自身の個人的な出来事に端を発しています。これらの出来事は私の世界観を大きく変え、死という普遍的な現実と向き合い、それがもたらすより深い疑問を探求するよう私を駆り立てました。

このテーマを可視化するために、黒い紙を板に水張りし、水彩色鉛筆で描画する技法を用いています。紙がもともと持つ繊細さは生命の儚さを象徴するメタファーであり、水彩色鉛筆を使うことで、暗闇から浮かび上がるような筆致を生み出すことができます。素材と制作プロセスの微妙な響き合いによって、人間存在の脆さと、静かに持続する力の両面を表現できればと考えています。

私の思索には、仏教における五蘊皆空や諸行無常といった教え、そして西洋におけるメメントモリやヴァニタスの伝統が大きな影響を与えています。いずれも、人が避けることのできない死と生命の有限性を意識させるものであり、それらを織り交ぜることで、私たちが共有する死の運命を強く実感し、「存在するとはどういうことか」をより深く考えるきっかけになればと願っています。

現代社会において、生命の意味や死の本質を改めて問い直すことは、多くの人にとって依然として重要なテーマだと思います。私の作品を通じて、静寂と内省の空間を提供し、それぞれの鑑賞者が人生の不確実性や自身の存在の意味を見つめ直す機会になれればと考えています。

I was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1973 as the second child in my family. At ten months old, I was diagnosed with left ventricular septal defect, facing a critical threat to my life. I managed to undergo surgery successfully and survived, although at that time, it was estimated that I might only live until around the age of 24. Despite this prognosis, I seemed to have enjoyed drawing since I became aware.

When I was seven years old, my parents divorced, and I moved to Kagoshima with my father. This move was somewhat forceful. My older brother was taken in by our mother, resulting in the separation of siblings. I was raised by my grandmother in Kagoshima for a while.

Around the age of eight, I began to develop a strong interest in themes such as human death, corpses, and human cruelty. One of the catalysts for this was attending a “Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Photo Exhibition” event with my father. Although I do not recall the exact name of the event, I remember it as a vivid exhibition centered around photo panels of the Hiroshima atomic bomb damage. This event, held in Kagoshima, was not a large-scale exhibition, but it was sufficient to leave a lasting impression on my memory.

Additionally, during this time, I became interested in historical documents and photo collections that summarized modern and contemporary wars, conflicts, and incidents. I often spent time alone reading them in the school library. It was also around this period that I started to develop a deep interest in human cruelty, brutality, violence, and death, leading me to begin creating various drawings and comics that expressed these themes.

After graduating from high school, I moved to Tokyo for employment. However, within six months, I struggled with personal relationships and ended up moving to Osaka to live with my mother. There, I reunited with my mother and brother and began living with them.

Four years later, I started helping at the fish shop run by my stepfather, whom my mother had remarried. For a while, I stepped away from drawing. However, I couldn’t give up on making a living through art and consulted my stepfather. Although he had once aimed to become a poet, my stepfather took what I wanted to do seriously and offered to support me, allowing me to resume drawing.

The following year, my stepfather’s health rapidly deteriorated due to a stroke, resulting in hemiplegia. This led him into a severe state of depression, and ultimately, he took his own life. This event was extremely shocking for me, as my stepfather was the first person to seriously listen to my aspirations.

Shortly after, I left my mother and brother to live independently.

Around this time, I converted to Christianity. My interest in Christianity, the Bible, and religious art began from here. Although I am no longer a Christian, this experience sparked my interest in various religions and philosophies from around the world.

In 1999, when I was 26 years old, a turning point occurred. I received a commission from a Japanese death metal label with which I had been acquainted to create the cover art for the South American death metal band INTERNAL SUFFERING. This work became the catalyst for over two decades of ongoing commissions from numerous death metal bands worldwide. My interest in expressing themes centered around death deepened further, encompassing Christianity, mythology, human brutality, Memento Mori (Remember Death), and Danse Macabre (Dance of Death).

At the age of 28, I met a woman and got married.

At the end of June 2010, I underwent an emergency heart surgery to implant a temporary pacemaker due to complete atrioventricular block. My pulse was at 24, a very dangerous situation. During the surgery, I experienced three instances of cardiac arrest, putting me in a highly perilous state, but I survived. On July 8th, I underwent a second surgery to implant a permanent pacemaker and was successfully discharged on July 16th, resuming my activities thereafter. This near-death experience during surgery (NDE) was an extremely valuable and rare experience in my life. I believe this experience drove me to create images that look beyond the brink of death.

In August 2014, I lost my wife, who had been my long-time partner in creation, to cancer. This event is still difficult for me to put into words. However, it undoubtedly was a devastating and intense experience for me. Around this time, Buddhist terms such as 五蘊皆空 (All Five Aggregates are Empty) and 諸行無常 (All Things are Impermanent) began to take a central place in my spirit and thoughts.

In October 2014, I moved my base to Gifu and began focusing more intensely on fine art production.

I believe that my current creations are deeply supported by personal experiences that have fundamentally shaken my views on life and death. My numerous experiences have greatly propelled my curiosity to express the liminal spaces between life and death and impermanence through my works.

My artistic technique involves drawing with white pencils on black paper affixed to wooden panels, symbolizing the emergence of light from darkness. Additionally, it reflects the sense of unity with the universe I felt during my near-death experience, serving not only as a creative process but also as a projection of my profound inner world.

Profile

Toshihiro’s art is deeply rooted in personal experiences that have profoundly shaped his perspective on life and death. Surviving cardiac arrest multiple times and losing his wife to cancer were pivotal moments that led him to explore the themes of mortality and impermanence through his work.

His current technique, which involves drawing with white pencils on black paper mounted on wooden boards, mirrors his journey of finding light in the darkness. It is both a creative expression and a reflection of his near-death experiences, where he felt an overwhelming sense of unity with the universe.

Toshihiro’s art is inspired by religious iconography, skulls, and the quiet stillness they evoke. He draws upon the symbolic power of these images to explore universal questions about existence. Through his work, he invites viewers to engage in a quiet dialogue, reflecting on the transient nature of life and their own place within it.

江川敏弘のアートは、人生観や死生観を根底から揺るがした個人的な経験に深く支えられています。幾度にもわたる心停止からの生還や、妻を癌で失った経験は、生と死のはざまや無常を作品で表現しようという探究心を大きく後押ししました。

彼の現在の制作技法は、木製パネルに水張りした黒い紙に白鉛筆のみで描くもので、暗闇から光を見出すことを象徴しています。また、臨死体験の中で感じた宇宙との一体感を反映した表現でもあり、それは単なる創作にとどまらず、深い内面世界の投影にもなっています。

江川敏弘の作品は、宗教的な図像や頭蓋骨などがもたらす静謐さに着想を得ながらも、それらの象徴性を用い人間の存在に関わる普遍的な問いを描き出しています。鑑賞者に対しては、人生の儚さや自らの存在意義を静かに見つめ直す機会を提供したいと考えています。