INTRODUCTION TO ESSSENSSSE
Click the media player below to listen.
TEXT VERSION
Welcome to the exhibition, ESSSENSSSE, by artist HOSSEI. The exhibition dates are Saturday 22 November 2025 to Sunday 1 February 2026 at Yarrila Arts and Museum, Gumbayngirr Country.
Yarrila Arts and Museum acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land, the Gumbayngirr people, who have cared for this land since time immemorial. Yarrila Arts and Museums pays respect to elders past, present, and emerging, and commit to a future with reconciliation and renewal at its heart.
ESSSENSSSE began when HOSSEI became fascinated by the sand dollar sea creatures— their shape, features, and how in mediaeval times it was truly believed that sand dollars were mermaid currency. When looking at the sand dollar, HOSSEI realised that if you were to remove the physical characteristics of a human body, you would be left with a mouth and an anus, just like the sand dollar. It is this idea that compelled HOSSEI to make the sand dollar an emblem of the show. An entry point and an exit, not just with food, but in the sense of discerning which energies come through and nourish the insides, and which are let out. ESSSENSSSE is about letting go and being one with the spirit and embracing its purity and vulnerability.
ESSSENSSSE is an aquatic ecosystem that explores the tenacity of the human spirit, stripping away corporeal human qualities and revealing what’s underneath. ESSSENSSSE is the third instalment to what HOSSEI calls his “sister shows,” O, presented at UTS Gallery & Art Collection (NSW) in 2023, and later THUNDERBLOOM at West Space (VIC) in 2023. Where O focused on the physical body, being up in the air and in transit, and THUNDERBLOOM looked at the human psyche, the weather in the mind, a stormy night – ESSSENSSSE is the next morning, the BODY, MIND, SPIRIT after a big night, looking at the sea for new beginnings.
Upon entering, reception is positioned to the right, and a long hallway is positioned to the left. To find the gallery, walk down the hallway. At the end of the hallway, on the right, there is the entrance to the exhibition ESSSENSSSE.
The gallery space is one main room. The length of the walls on the left and right of the room are 15 metres while the the wall at the back is 11 metres long, making it a rectangle. The space is carpeted in a deep electric blue, like the ocean, with matching walls.
About 4 metres in front of the entrance, there is a wooden arch structure which is approximately 5 metres high. On the arch, there is a sign saying “ESSSENSSSE” in colourful electric neon lights. Behind the arch, there is a variety of costumes which hang
deconstructed from points in the ceiling from purple and orange rope. These costumes can be moved. They are not cane detectable so please use caution when navigating the space. Audiences are encouraged to gently touch the costumes.
Across the exhibition walls, there are randomly placed fluorescent lights that are circular with wavy edges in yellow, green, purple, pink and red. Different coloured plush starfish are also attached to the walls in random placements. Along with the starfish, brown and white coils of tubular rope, about 30cm in length, which the artist thinks of as snails, are attached to the walls.
A soft and gentle meditative soundscape plays in the background. Calming and soothing sounds collected by the artist include a vibraphone, conch-shell horns, ocean waves, whale songs and even his purring cat named Taro.
The first iteration of ESSSENSSSE was at Verge Gallery from 14 February to 24 April, 2024. The second iteration was at Bathurst Regional Art Gallery from 5 July to 7 September 2025. After being exhibited at Yarrila, ESSSENSSSE will be travelling to Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, across 2025 and 2026.
For accessibility, the full list of audio descriptions of the costumes are available and can be accessed via wall mounted QR codes located at the entrances to the gallery space. Tactile floor indicators, detectable by cane, are positioned directly below these QR codes.
These audio descriptions were codesigned, in collaboration with the artist, by Sarah Empey and Anthia Balis, and aim to provide enhanced accessibility for all visitors, including those who are blind or have low vision.