Kagami (気が見) is Japanese for ‘feeling good’, and is the title of the limited edition book produced by Sandberg/Senju with 56 of his paintings made between 2016 and 2018, together with descriptive texts. It is clear that Sandberg has mastered both the spirit and the techniques of Japanese shunga art to a very high degree, as both treatment and composition are impressive.

On his Shunga Gallery website, Marijn Kruijff has a good overview of Senju’s work (you can read it here), where he writes ‘His work is characterised by large close-ups zooming in on its subjects recalling the work of shunga artists like Koryusai and Utamaro. Senju includes many of the ancient shunga elements such as close-ups, big genitals, foxes, kabuki actors, harigata (dildos), mosquito-netting, mirrors, water wells and folding screens, translating it all into his own aesthetic language. Not surprisingly, since Senju is a tattoo artist, a recurring feature in his paintings are the lavishly tattooed bodies and body parts of the figures, depicted in strong vivid colours.’

Kagami was published by Okaasan Books in a limited edition of 1,000 copies.