Yoshitomo Nara

Private Collection, Netherlands
Sotheby's, New York, November 13, 2003, Lot 428
Gallery Itsuraku, Tokyo
Acquired by the present owner from the above

Prato, Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea, Senritsumirai-Future Perfect: Present-Day Art from Japan, September 2001 - January 2002, p. 108, illustrated

Yoshitomo Nara, Who Snatched the Babies?, Tokyo, 2002, n.p., illustrated 

“Have you met Sprout? She is smarty-pants know-it-all. She pretends to be all innocent, tries to fool everyone, but she has a pure evil streak. Okay, maybe not pure evil, but she can be a real pain in the ass. She makes everyone watch and listen to her, you really can’t help it sometimes. She is always looking right at you, demanding your full attention like she has something really important to say. That’s why she’s called the ambassador. I think she is an emissary from some special land where kids and dogs rule. She loves talking all about what it is like there. She says that her world is full of music, dreams, poems, and freedom to do whatever you want – even smoke all your mama’s cigarettes. I think she might just live in her imagination. She may look like she’s in total control, but you can tell when it’s an act. I bet when she’s alone she can be just scared and mad and bored as the rest of us. A lot of people ignore Sprout. They don’t listen, probably because she is little, but maybe because she’s smarter then they want to give her credit for. Maybe we’re afraid of what she has to say. Maybe we want to be safe and never sorry. Maybe we’re just used to things the way they are.” - Kristin Chambers (Exh. Cat., Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, Yoshitomo Nara: Nothing Ever Happens, 2003, p. 25)