Flower Parent and Child 2019

Takashi Murakami made this artwork called Flower Parent and Child at an unspecified date with unspecified materials. Looking at this image, what strikes me is how Murakami has taken the idea of a simple flower and blown it up, not just in scale but also in terms of emotion. Imagine him there, working with flat, bright colours, outlining each petal with precision. There’s something so joyful and energetic about it, as if he’s not just painting flowers but also bottling happiness itself. The repetition of the smiling flowers feels like a kind of mantra, a visual echo that reverberates through his other works, too, where he also dives deep into themes of consumer culture. It makes me think about Warhol’s pop art – that simple act of taking everyday images and turning them into something iconic. He’s reminding us that even the simplest things can carry deep meaning.