Yusuke Asai's Wondrous Art: On the Walls of Indian Schools

Yusuke Asai rose to fame in the international art circuit three years ago, when his murals on the walls of the Niranjana Public Welfare School in Bihar broke the internet. The murals were done as a part of the Wall Art Festival, where Indian and Japanese artists spend three weeks in the village, and create art-works on the walls of the school. The cultural and artistic exchange initiative hopes to help draw attention to, and resolve various issues seen in villages in India such as poverty, less access to education and employment.

The initiative first started in 2006, when about 50 students from Tokyo’s Gakugei University donated money that they made from working part-time jobs to an NGO in India to construct a new school building for the Niranjana Public Welfare School, in Sujata village, near Bodhgaya. The initiative was undertaken as a response to the poor education facilities in the region.

Funded by overseas donations and nurtured by teachers and volunteers, by 2010, around 400 students studying from nursery to Class 7 were enrolled. However, ongoing support was necessary for the maintenance of the school and to help spread awareness of the importance of education amongst the people. The Wall Art Festival was thus organized initially at the Niranjana Public Welfare School; and later taken as a concept to many other schools across rural India.

Yusuke Asai is one of the artists who have been participating in the festival, three years in a row. Asai sourced locally available materials which included seven different types of soil, cow dung, water and straw. Working with children, he collected soil from various sites in the village and mixed them with water to make pigments; and together they filled the walls and ceiling of a classroom with beautiful murals inspired by traditional Indian art. Asai also encouraged the children to make hand-prints on the wall in a way that makes them feel proud of their contribution to the art-work, and thus nurtures their self-belief. 

After the festival was over, Asai once again got the children together, to help wash away the mud paintings, and thus succinctly demonstrated the concept of recycling, of sustainability, of biodegradable materials returning to the soil. “I accepted the ephemeral nature of dirt as a medium from the moment I started painting with it...When I erase the painting, it is sad, but within the context of the natural world, everything is temporary,” says the artist.

Asia’s imagination, creativity and originality in his choice of medium and subjects render his art with a uniquely surreal touch. And his devotion to charitable causes is evident as he continues to assist Indian schools, under the aegis of the Wall Art Festival.