TOKI. All images courtesy of Masakatsu Sashie, shared with permissionMasakatsu Sashies Mysterious Spheres Hover Over Post-Apocalyptic LandscapesDecember 2, 2024ArtKate MothesEncircling eerie orbs, architectural elements and neon signs hover above urban landscapes and fields of detritus in Masakatsu Sashies oil paintings. His fantastical, post-apocalyptic scenes envision Earth as a representation of the universe, the artist tells Colossal.Sashie adds, This led me to the idea of symbolically expressing the sphere. My inspiration came from designs that feature circles symbolically composed within rectangles, such as the Japanese national flag, Hanafuda cards, and mandalas.Phantasm (night)Sashie begins by gathering images related to a theme, such as signage, aging buildings, or retro motifs. He works from his own photographs, in addition to images he finds online. Likening the composition to a two-dimensional assemblage, he then merges all of the shapes into floating globes, rendered in oil on canvas.Devoid of people, Sashies landscapes interrogate the nature of mass consumerism, waste, and aging infrastructure. Like some of sci-fis most iconic spaceshipsthink the Death Star from Star Warsthe illuminated spheres appear to run on inexplicable sources of energy, leaving their internal workings or possible inhabitants a total mystery.If you plan to be in Melbourne in May, Sashies work is slated for an exhibition at Outr Gallery, followed by another show in July at i GALLERY in Osaka. In the meantime, dive deeper into the artists imaginary worlds on Instagram.Phantasm (day)EchoConcreteShieldHallBoilerSYMBOL Previous articleNext article