Haruko Tanaka: Café Kiss of the World

The inspiration for Haruko Tanaka's installation derives from her lifelong experience of having no fixed residence, retaining friends throughout the world and being transported back momentarily to places of familiarity no matter how seemingly foreign the circumstances. Her habitual visits between Japan and the U.S. are filled with disparate sentiments ranging from romanticism about tradition, history, and family, to attitudes about progress, linguistic dominance, and fashion forwardness. This installation functions as a metaphorical eye of the storm – a place of contemplative comfort in which to slow down and feel the “kiss of the world” upon us.