International Leprosy Association -
History of Leprosy

  • International Leprosy Association -
    History of Leprosy

    Sadness

    童話なる お山の世界 月かかる 尖りもつ身の どこかおかしく

    2001, National Sanatorium Suruga, Japan. More details
    A pointed element, the moon
    Over a gentle mountain of the fairy-tale world
    Is somehow an alien element


    The forced isolation institution where the painter was resident in the past is a world that is normally an unlikely world. This normally unrealistic world is expressed as a world of fairy-tale in the painting while the crescent moon is symbolizing the painter herself. If the world of fairy-tale is gentle and round, the crescent moon, with its pointed edges, is a heterogeneous element. The painter herself who criticizes the isolation policy is also a heterogeneous element. She expresses the sorrow and satire against the very existence of a society where discrimination exists in a matter-of-fact manner. It is a painting of criticism and irony towards the leprosy isolation policy as well as to the exclusion and discrimination against people who are different.
    Other works by this artist
    Details
    Title Sadness
    Title(Original language) 悲しさ
    Year 2001
    Country Japan
    Location National Sanatorium Suruga
    Genre Painting
    Owner Hiroko Kato
    Copyright Hiroko Kato