VSI: Wataboku Art Book

The fantastic collection of artworks by the globally active digital artist wataboku is now available!

This book is a collection of artworks by wataboku, the digital artist who continues attracting attention both in Japan and worldwide. The artist's illustrations of beautiful, yet somewhat shadowy, shojo girls, rendered with a watercolor touch, have been acclaimed on social media not only in Japan but across the world. This book comprehensively covers wataboku's work, from works presented at solo exhibitions around the world to more recent works.

The title VSI means "VS (versus)" "I (myself)," and comes from the wakaboku's desire to "highlight the importance of feelings I had as a teenager, which forms the basis of my work. Or to put it bluntly, to focus on a time when I was 'edgy.'" This book offers a complete archive that condenses five years of evolution since wataboku's first art book was released. Even as the environment around them changed, wataboku continuously protected this sense of self, which has been the central pillar and source of creation for the artist's work.

About the Author:

wataboku is a Japanese digital artist whose fanbase continues to expand all over the world in response to their works based on the original shojo schoolgirl icon, SAI, developed on social media. In 2016, wataboku's first art book, Kan 0, was published by Pony Canyon. Since then, in addition to exhibitions throughout Japan, the artist has held solo exhibitions in various cities, mainly in Asia. More recently, wataboku has been expanding their range of activities as a contemporary artist. Representative works include a collaboration with Yohji Yamamoto, a music video for "Mela!" by Ryokuoushoku Shakai (Ryokushaka), and book design for 12 Suicidal Teens (Bunshun Bunko). The name "wataboku" comes from the Japanese words for "I" "watashi" and "boku."