Nobumichi Asai

Asai’s innovative practice combines advertising, design, art, and programming. This video was “dropped” on the Internet on 6 August 2017 at 8:15 am, the same date and time as the Hiroshima atomic bombing in 1945. The work’s central element is a device developed by the artist that visualizes radioactivity. The subject’s face is completely covered with projected dots of light, illustrating the overwhelming destruction of nuclear power in both the initial explosion and the ensuing radiation. Addressing themes of fragility and precariousness, the video is a subtle but powerful representation of the effects nuclear radiation has on the human body.

Nobumichi Asai was born in 1968 in Aichi, Japan. He lives and works in Tokyo. He graduated from Tohoku University. His work has been presented internationally, including at the 58th Grammy Awards and La Triennale di Milano. Asai is currently part of the visual design studio WOW Inc.