Hiroike is a photographer born in Tottori Prefecture, Japan in 1962. He encountered computers in their early days at Hiroshima University and worked for over 30 years as a systems engineer, developing robots and CAD. He began taking up photography seriously after developing a photo display program, and in 2020, he won the Sony World Photography Awards, the world’s largest awards competition, and transitioned to photography. He has since gone on to win numerous international competitions.

His creative work centers on the universal question, “What is beauty?”, which he explores scientifically and philosophically from an engineer’s perspective. To this end, he creates two contrasting works: “landscape photography” based on logic (surface consciousness), and “surrealist photography” based on sensibility (unconsciousness).

In his landscape photography, he captures Japan’s unique natural beauty and landscapes through the uniquely Japanese aesthetic of “transience” and “wabi-sabi,” reflecting his deep connection with nature. Surrealism is an artistic movement that emerged 100 years ago, seeking to portray a “hyperrealistic” world by shedding new light on reality through the unconscious. Hiroike has redefined Surrealism by leveraging the characteristics of modern digital cameras.

Digital cameras are capable of capturing a vast number of images. “Selecting from a vast array of random photographs” allows one to find a shot that resonates with one’s own subconscious and visualize its beauty. Hiroike’s “Firefly” works are created through this process.

Digital cameras also allow for on-the-spot viewing. Hiroike photographs fireworks and other objects using ICM (Intentional Camera Movement), then re-photographs them while reviewing and adjusting them on the spot, creating abstract, poetic works that evoke the universe and imaginary creatures. This is a creative process in which images born by chance are received and created through subconscious perception. He also coined the term “action photography” to describe his works, which emphasize movement and “paint” as if dancing, just as Jackson Pollock created “action painting” as an extension of Surrealism.

Hiroike’s photographs are not simply records of reality; they are pieces for the exploration of beauty that lies between chance and necessity, conscious and unconscious, real and surreal.