Go Asa
Japan
Asa Go was born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, in 1978. She graduated from the Department
of Painting with a Concentration in Western Painting at Joshibi University of Art and Design in
2001 and completed Master's Program in Art Research at Tokyo University of the Arts in 2003.
In 2005, she went to New York for the emerging artist study abroad program supported by
Agency for Cultural Affairs.
While her work may appear cute at first glance, Go contemplates and reflects on her experiences
in life, creating works with contemporary themes and messages that resonate with reality. As a
third-generation Korean living in Japan, her participation in KIAF 2004 Special Exhibition
Contemporary Japanese Art prompted her to contemplate her own identity. Subsequently, she
began incorporating rabbits, which are said to resemble the Korean Peninsula in shape, into her
artwork. In her early works, she explored the theme of ʻself and othersʼ, depicting figures such as
girls representing herself and rabbits representing others. She expressed the quest for identity
through her paintings. Her expression later shifted from ʻthe relationship between self and
othersʼ to ʻthe form of that relationship, what is shared and what is notʼ. Now, having gone
through parenthood, she paints weeds and cities as metaphors for children and adults. In
contrast to the planned cities, she portrays weeds that grow freely in all directions as a character
named ʻMr. and Ms. Weedʼ, expressing her desire to see the world once again through the
perspective of Mr. and Ms. Weed's mindset as an adult.