BERLIN (Kyodo) A Japanese artist on Wednesday began repainting her badly damaged work done in 1990 on the Berlin Wall, the symbol of the Cold War in East and West Germany.
Kikue Miyatake, 54, a resident of Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, is the only Japanese painter invited to restore work on the wall's 1.3-km East Side Gallery.
Miyatake was one of some 120 artists from 21 countries who painted on the east side the year after the Berlin Wall was knocked down in 1989.
Many of the paintings have since been badly damaged by erosion, graffiti, vandalism and auto exhaust.
A German nonprofit organization began working on restoring and preserving the paintings last spring.
On Wednesday, Miyatake began work on her abstract painting, titled "Paradise out of the Darkness," on a 3.5-meter-high and 14.2-meter-wide section of the wall.
Miyatake's wall painting is in two colors — black and blue. Miyatake said the black symbolizes the dark ages during former East Germany's rule while the blue stands for the reunification of Germany and peace.
