TOKYO (ANN/THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN) – A young high school artist with developmental disorders is making waves on Instagram with her vibrant artwork.
Apipo, a 16-year-old second-year student from Yoshikawa, Saitama Prefecture, had to take a break from school due to her condition. However, she found her passion and confidence in drawing, using art as a way to express herself.
Now attending a credit-based high school, Apipo continues to create captivating pieces.
In April, she held her first solo exhibition in Saitama Prefecture, sharing her work with the public. “I want everyone in the world to see my paintings,” she said.
Her works feature original characters and animals in her personal style. The works each have a different touch, but they are all distinctly Apipo’s. They are done in black pen with a touch of coloured pen and marker. Her intense attention to detail, including in the use of colour, can be felt in the works.
Teenager with disorders
Apipo has loved drawing from a young age. She created characters from her imagination and challenged herself to draw flowers with a single stroke, which is no easy task. She enjoyed taking on these challenges in her own way.
She was found to have developmental disorders when she was a third-grade elementary school student.
She was diagnosed with selective mutism, which prevents her from speaking in certain situations, and autistic spectrum disorder, which makes it hard for her to form interpersonal relationships.
Group activities were difficult for her so spending time at school caused her distress. Her physical condition began to decline as well, causing problems like stomach aches.
Apipo stopped going to school and spent more time at home.
That was when she became obsessed with drawing pictures. Her mother, Yuka Takizawa, 39, suggested to Apipo that she post her works on Instagram, hoping that more people would see her works and help her gain confidence.
Video views 5 million times
Apipo began posting her works on her mother’s Instagram account (@apipo1113) about six years ago. Responses praising her work started coming in one after the other, such as “You’re a genius” and “You have a great sense [of design].”
As a result, Apipo became even more motivated to create, her mother said.
What has received the greatest response so far was a video she posted in 2021, when she was a second-year junior high school student. The video, which showed her drawing a realistic picture of an elephant with a pen, has been viewed nearly 5 million times.
The more that Apipo’s works were posted on Instagram, the more active she became, challenging herself to draw pictures in new genres and asking her mother to post her works. Every time she saw a comment on a post, she smiled, saying “All right!” or “I’m so happy!” and her mother said that her ability to express herself grew by leaps and bounds.
The Instagram account now has over 10,000 followers. Apipo now dreams of becoming a painter. “I want to continue to draw so that many people will see my work,” she said.
“I’m so happy that my daughter found something she can say she loves,” Apipo’s mother said. “I hope her success will encourage children who are having difficulty in life, along with their parents.”
