NAGOYA—A giant child wearing a fluorescent yellow hazmat suit to guard against radiation arrived on Aug. 6 in one of the venues for Aichi Triennale 2013, a powerful symbol that conveys a message of hope for the future.
NAGOYA—A giant child wearing a fluorescent yellow hazmat suit to guard against radiation arrived on Aug. 6 in one of the venues for Aichi Triennale 2013, a powerful symbol that conveys a message of hope for the future.
Contemporary artist Kenji Yanobe, 47, created the “Sun Child” statue hoping that the areas affected by the 2011 accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant will recover from the disaster. The accident was triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.
“This is a monument of recovery that makes people think about the coming future,” Yanobe said.
The child, standing resolutely, holds his protective helmet in one hand. The Geiger counter that is installed on his chest to measure radiation levels reads zero.
Made of reinforced plastics, the 6-meter-high artwork has been displayed in domestic and overseas museums. Workers assembled it in the Aichi Arts Center in Nagoya’s Higashi Ward on Aug. 6 with a crane.
The statue is expected to serve as a symbol of this year’s Aichi Triennale, which aims to express the hopes of the post-quake society through artworks.
The international art festival opens here on Aug. 10.