Aya Cagiu was in Hyogo, Japan in 1978, and graduated from the Department of Sculpture at Tama Art University in 2001. Cagiu has been presenting embroidery works since her first solo exhibition, “Over the sea, in the sky”, in 2011, developing this medium into three-dimensional and temporal expressions based on her sculptural sensibility. Furthermore, she carries forward Japan’s dyeing and weaving culture and the handcrafts of “prayer” into the present day, exploring the boundary between “seeing” and “touching” through the traces of time marked by thread. Her major exhibitions include “Takamatsu Contemporary Art Annual vol.09: Imagine the presence of Time” (2020) at the Takamatsu Art Museum, Kagawa; “Stories Drawn in Thread - Embroidery, Illustration, and Fashion” (2021–23, Yokosuka Museum of Art, Kanagawa and other venues), a solo exhibition “Night Flight” (2023, MEGUMI OGITA GALLERY, Tokyo), and “In the Genes, Taking Marvelous Meiji Craftsmanship into the Future” (2023–24, Mitsui Memorial Museum, Tokyo and other venues nationwide).