The Onsen series, which Yusuke Yamatani began nearly 15 years ago as a personal interest, is rooted in his journeys to hidden, wild hot springs. Initially starting with intimate trips alongside family and friends, his practice has evolved over the years, leading to this project—his very first international expansion into the wild hot springs of Sumatra, Indonesia.
This journey centered around Lake Toba, the world’s largest caldera lake formed by a cataclysmic super-eruption roughly 74,000 years ago. Mapping out hidden springs across the island, such as Sipoholon and Berastagi, Yamatani tracked a natural route circling this immense lake. Surrounded by austere, desolate landscapes stripped of vegetation by volcanic energy—stark terrains Yamatani describes as spaces "where it feels as if this world and the next intersect"—the raw environment prompts a profound reflection on our relationship with nature.
Yet, despite the geographical shift from Japan to Indonesia, the core experience remains unchanged. As the vulnerable human form slips into the geothermal waters, all senses of location and era completely dissolve. Immersed in the steam, the specificities of place no longer matter, and our contemporary perception of time simply evaporates. Navigating between different scales—from the macro expanse of the ancient caldera to the micro intimacy of the human subject—the work captures a primal, meditative state of existence, revealing a universal resonance of human connection that transcends both geography and history.