​RUNA KOSOGAWA

As an artist I experienced an important change in 2012 when I moved to Hida-Takayama which is rich in natural beauty.  Previously I had always lived in urban residential areas where I never felt emotional connections to place.  As I started my new life in Hida-Takayama I began to understand for the first time the deep connection people have to the place where they live...the sense of belonging.  I also began to understand the grief and pain people felt when they were forced to leave their land and when they were separated from loved ones.  Since that time I have been focusing on the conflicts and contradictions in our societies and also on the importance of passing on the stories of war and environmental problems to future generations.  That is why I am now working on a new theme--enquiring about the value of our lives--for which I am using black colored glass.