Tomoro Yamanaka
Exhibited Artist
Born in 1997, Tomoro Yamanaka is an artist based in Fukuoka, Japan. He graduated from the Oita Prefectural College of Arts and Culture in 2020 and has since pursued dual artistic paths: working as an illustrator under his kanji name “山中智郎” and as a contemporary artist under his hiragana name “やまなかともろう.” This conscious separation of identities reflects his embrace of multiplicity and layered self-expression.
Yamanaka’s ongoing series Urukami is a striking body of work that centers around depictions of black hair—a motif inspired by Showa-era model Sayoko Yamaguchi. Rendered with brush techniques adapted from traditional Japanese lacquerware, the flowing strands become abstract meditations on the human spirit, inner darkness, and quiet melancholy. Each composition is deliberately minimal, built around the core elements of hair, face, and background, allowing singular emotions to rise to the surface without distraction.
His visual vocabulary draws heavily from traditional Japanese aesthetics such as ukiyo-e, hanafuda, Mincho-style hiragana, calligraphy, and regional crafts like the Hime Daruma dolls of Oita. These are blended with modern design principles, including architectural masking techniques and graphic outlines. Instead of reproducing these references, Yamanaka distills their essence into a new, contemporary visual language—subtle, elegant, and emotionally resonant.
Themes of regional isolation, depopulation, and the fear of cultural disappearance echo throughout his work. Having grown up in a rural village in Miyazaki with limited artistic resources, Yamanaka turned to the internet for inspiration and began developing his aesthetic voice through digital platforms. His encounter with Shiseido’s vintage advertisements during college left a lasting impression, helping shape his appreciation for impermanence, beauty, and transformation.
In both his Urukami series and newer projects like Ryukai (流塊), Yamanaka investigates the fluidity of identity and the invisible currents that shape human existence. His works are not only studies in form and texture, but also quiet reflections on solitude, memory, and resilience—offering moments of stillness and recognition in a fast-moving world.
