line. I think probably that is one of the reasons why I am particularly interested in art from Asia. There is an ethos there that appeals to me. It seems more humane, more human, less religious or pseudo-religious. KW: I met Fram Kitagawa and interviewed him in February this year. It was interesting talking with him. He was heavily involved in the radical student movement in Japan in the late 60s a movement that seems to be largely forgotten about now. He has very clear political views and his reasoning behind the Echigo-Tsumari is not just purely about the placing of the art in that particular location and context, but one which is very much about politicised activity. He is a really interesting character? JW: Yes, he is. KW: In his essay for the catalogue to Bye Bye Kitty: Between Heaven and Hell in Contemporary Japanese Art, Tetsuya Ozaki, the former editor of ART iT, makes a connection between “a system that doesn’t make people happy” and the current “floating generation” of suicides, hikikomori, and otaku. He demonstrates how young Japanese artists are resisting “the kawaii phenomenon” as a means of escape and argues for a broader understanding of Japanese artists as adults both reacting to and transcending their cultural environment. Ozaki points to a generation of ‘post’-Murakami artists now producing work that indicates a more complicated, adult view of life, melding traditional viewpoints with perceptions of present and future in radical and sometimes unsettling combinations. Form, spirituality