In Yoshitomo Nara’s Hand Searching of 2017, one of the artist’s instantly recognisable young figures stands with large almond eyes, confronting the viewer with a slight side-gaze and ruby-red downturned smirk that feels mature beyond her years. Intimate in scale, the viewer towers over the child, who is dressed in an oversized shirt with sleeves that are too long for her arms. She raises her right arm out in front of her, as if saying to the viewer, “I can’t find my hand. Where is it?”. Her blank expression is slightly impatient, expectant, as though she's wondering why we are taking so long to help her roll up her sleeves.
“These children are not aggressors, but vulnerable beings confronting a hostile world.”
—Yoshitomo NaraNara’s broader practice centres on his recurring young figures, who embody a childlike sense of imagination as well as an ever-present loneliness. The artist grew up in a remote town in picturesque Aomori, the northernmost province of Japan, located approximately 700 kilometres north of Tokyo. He has recalled being lonely as a child; “When you are a kid, you are too young to know you are lonely, sad, upset,” said Nara, “…now I know I was.” His young figures draw on these experiences, each work a glimpse into another facet of the artist’s internal psyche. At the same time, the endearing youthful figures express emotions that feel both personal and universal, inviting viewers to reflect on their own inner worlds as well. Often depicted alone, these characters inhabit quiet, self-contained worlds, amplifying their emotional intensity and individuality. This is heightened in Hand Searching, as the young girl seems to be waiting for an adult or friend to help her, but she is all alone.
“If they had a collective motto, it would probably be ''Don't throw a tantrum, get even.”
—Roberta SmithDespite this loneliness, Nara’s young figures do not seek sympathy. Rather, they are confident, often emitting a sense of resentment and rebellion. This builds on Nara’s punk-influenced earlier work, made in the 1990s when he was based in Germany following his studies there. Inspired by album covers of punk, folk and rock records, these earlier works feature children that are explicitly angry, sometimes even violent. In Hand Searching, although the child is calmer, she also has a mature sense of confidence and resilience, as she stands tall with her unwavering gaze. Not upset, she exemplifies the observation made by Robert Smith, art critic for the New York Times, that if Nara’s figures were to have a collective motto, it would be “Don’t throw a tantrum, get even.”
