No Nukes, 1998

No Nukes, 1998

Yoshitomo Nara, No Nukes, 1998, Acrylic and colored pencil on paper, 14⅛ × 8⅞ in. (36 × 22.5 cm), Collection of Masayuki Nagase, © Yoshitomo Nara 1998, photo by Norihiro Ueno, courtesy of the artist

An early representation of Nara’s strong stance against nuclear weapons, No Nukes is now synonymous with the antinuclear protest movement. Painted over a promotional poster for bossa nova musician Vinicius Cantuária’s Amor Brasileiro (1998) among other printed ephemera, in July 2012, it became a powerful symbol when the artist allowed protesters to download a high-resolution image of the work to use as picket signs during one of Japan’s largest antinuclear protests. Dubbed “No Nukes Girl,” as many as one hundred thousand people gathered to rail against the government’s decision to restart two nuclear reactors in Fukui prefecture, many with this image in hand.