Sentient Beings Dissolve | Yusuke Asai
Yusuke Asai’s first solo exhibition in India, at ARTISANS’, Sentient Beings Dissolve, is born from a longing to connect deeply with nature, and through it, with a global universe. It taps a primal consciousness that resonates with indigenous arts around the world.
For this exhibition, Asai is inspired by the word Tokeru meaning “dissolve”, to express the interconnectedness of all living beings. As they die, they break down, and fuse with one another. This poignant awareness of the cycle of life – dying, dissolving, breaking down, fusing, merging, and then regenerating, comes from a deeply personal realization through the pandemic of recent years.
Yusuke Asai grew up in hyper-urban Tokyo, yearning to connect with the natural world. Today, he uses soil from the earth as his chosen medium. A self-taught artist, Asai’s “earth paintings” share a tribal-primitive aesthetic. They come alive with natural beings, fantastical plants, animals, humans, and imaginary hybrids, that morph dynamically in Asai’s very act of creation. They emerge nested, one within the other, like micro ecosystems within a larger universe.
