Betjeman has been living in Japan as the recipient of a prestigious MEXT grant from the Japanese government. During this time he has been working closely with renowned Japanese painter Norihiko Saito, studying the materials and methods of Nihonga (traditional Japanese painting) at Japan’s premier art institution, Tokyo University of the Arts.
Betjeman’s recent body of work combines influences from contemporary and traditional Japanese art forms including ukiyo-e, shunga (erotic prints) and manga, with elements of British landscape painting and American graphic art. Many of the works hover between drawing and painting, employing a Japanese economy of line and color which amplifies the material qualities of the mediums used: washi (Japanese paper), silk, silver leaf, sumi (ink made from soot and fishbone glue) and iwa enogu (natural pigments) among others. The shift in medium brings conventional subject matter, and the autobiographical, into unfamiliar territory; similarly, by employing traditional western materials to approach Japanese subjects, Betjeman produces hybrid works which communicate a suspense between visual idioms.