Influenced by the anti-art movement of Dadaism, Daisuke Ichiba has developed his own trademark art style which he calls Badaism. Navigating the frontiers of contemporary art, comic books, black poetry and loud music, he defines himself as the painter of Bijin-gaka, a bizarre world of twisted beauty, where one-eyed impassive schoolgirls rub shoulders with dead animals, heads and body parts appear in street scenes, strange animals turn up at picnics, and faces become grotesque geometrical patterns. His Japanese schoolgirls in their black pinafore dresses and white blouses (when they are not naked) are more recognisable, though in true manga fashion are often shown tied up in knots in traditional shibari ropework.

Many may see Ichiba’s art as strange beyond comprehension, but his Badaism is deeply influenced by Japanese tradition, culture and artistic tradition. By mixing manga, print and paint, his universe is nourished by his cultural roots, rich in hallucinatory nightmare, madness and eroticism. He creates a fantastic and chaotic world, in which humans readily transform, combine, and have intimate relationships with hybrid beings.