Working from memory and imagination, Horikoshi uses portrait painting as a medium to introspectively examine and reflect social dynamics. His characters are lucidly influenced by his lifelong exposure to manga, animation and illustration.The facial features are 2D, it is apparent that neither his conscious nor his subconscious competence will allow him to draw anything but relatively flat manga-like portraits.When the artist paints a self-portrait, this is never obvious, as he will use disguises and his characters often display awkward posture or setting with abstract objects or a prop that leads to an underlying narrative.

Gathering his inspiration from hedonistic elements of society, he avoids popular culture whenever possible. His artworks represent a gentle quality as well as a revolutionary spirit. The portraits have the essence of photographic portraits. Either headshots or family pictures the characters are framed and positioned with figure[s] in the foreground, emphasising the look and feel of a profile picture or portrait photo.The artist's fondness for photographs comes from the emotional reaction when looking at a photograph, a reaction he rarely experiences when looking artworks and keeps this firmly in mind when working on his paintings.

Horikoshi opts to draw his characters to exist with bodies that often have an air of indistinct and ambiguous figuration.This echoes his introspective feeling to our human foundations in society.

Are we happy with our personality or are we striving to please others. Do we ultimately want to be someone else? His artworks do express sorrow to some extent, yet each portrait hasa complex and ambivalent idea the artist was originally driven by to create the work, reacting to a primal impulse. Although his portraits can be sorrowful, his characters have an air of stylishness. His artworks are a reflection of the artist inner vision of himself, who he believes his really is. One can understand his core feelings by studying his work.

Taking on loneliness in modern society, the artist finds himself looking inward, while makinga conscious effort to avoid subjects of disparity. His artworks are relatable, scratching the surface of social conditions; the narratives often have a potent emotional quotient and reflect distinct aspects of society.Through this process we are able to see results that tell stories of the pure and impure. Horikoshi mindfully embodies his portraits with the souls of the more enlightened of people he has met or admires and also comments on the impure in this theory. When studying this reality, the viewer can share in his introspective universe.

'When I look at my own work I am always very careful and try to be as objective as possible.As all sorts of outrageous happenings are going on in this world, I still try to maintain a distanced attitude towards it and possibly isolate myself from it. I would say it is quite similar to being completely alone in the midst of a chaotic tornado. Such emotion serves as an exceedingly important factor to the making of my works.' Tatsuhito Horikoshi

Text courtesy A2Z Art Gallery.