Eimi Hashimoto

 
 

Eimi Hashimoto is a painter and picture book writer, who also makes pottery planters and vases based on her paintings. She is inspired by the mysterious world created by author Shaun Tan, as well as plants and aspects found in everyday life. 

“I like plants, so I grow and draw them at home. I create creatures that look like plants, and in most of my works, I unconsciously draw plants. I feel that there are more invisible things in our daily lives, such as the quiet growth of plants, seasonal air changes, etc. I draw a picture as a means to shape these ambiguous concepts. Plants especially affect me, and to me, they feel like a symbol of life and death.”

Her commercial experience lends itself to an array of applications. She has been commissioned to produce picture books, illustrated music videos, app games, a T-shirt collaboration with Japanese apparel brand Drug Honey and the gift packaging for Nepal Tea’s Link Tea. In addition to her print work, Eimi also produces painted pottery. She says “Each pottery makes you realize that there are some spirits you can’t see.”

Eimi has been consistently exhibiting her work since 2013 in group shows and solo exhibitions. She notably participated in the Artist-in-Residence event at the Abiko International Open-Air Art Exhibition in Fusa, Abiko City, Japan in October 2016.

“I was shocked by the many works and installations that blend into the familiar scenery of a single town. I was touched by the works and ways of thinking of artists from various countries, and my sense of values and things changed dramatically. When I participated in the Abiko Open-Air Art Exhibition, I participated in a completely different way from the paintings I usually drew and explored expressions.”

She is a graduate of the illustration department at Tokyo Design College in Tokyo. Eimi currently resides in Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture and is currently working on publishing her picture book A Life Of An Entity.