The earthquake hit the north-east of Japan in March 2011 and the resultant series of nuclear accidents in Fukushima has caused me many emotional scars. This work expresses this pain and confusion in a style influenced by Jōmon pottery.

Jōmon is the name of the period of prehistoric Japan from about 14,000BC to 300BC. The Middle Jōmon period, from about 2,500BC to 1,500BC, is known for corded pattern pottery with which this work has been inspired. Human beings have always experienced earthquakes or other kinds of natural disaster. Our ancestors might have seen tsunamis sweeping across their villages or fish struggling in waves. But, I am not sure that they imagined us, their descendants, 4,500 years later confronting radiation threats. It is not easy to envision such a remote future. Will our descendants 4,500 years in the future appreciate our deeds?

I would like to state many thanks to European Museum of Modern Glass (Coburg, Germany) for the 3rd Lampwork Convention which gave me the opportunity to create this work.

In 2020, the year of the international crisis of Covid19, I donated this piece to Pilchuck Glass School for their fundraising auction.