For as long as I can remember, the last war has seemed like an ancient event to our generation. I was raised under what I believed was a long period of peace. As I grow older, though, I realize how complacent I’ve been about the dangers of this world. Earthquakes, nuclear meltdowns, pandemics, war… In a world troubled by the knowledge that unimaginable things can keep happening, there is still a small part of me that feels like a bystander who thinks they will never use nuclear weapons again. I want to question my awareness of this world one more time.

As I glanced at my smartphone while preparing this poster, I saw a live broadcast of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, with the leaders of each nation leaving the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum to head toward the Memorial Monument for Hiroshima, City of Peace. Nuclear weapons are nothing more than the work of people. What people give rise to, people can stop. I had this thought in mind as I expressed the “now” that sits adjacent to 1945. This finger is a symbol of human fragility. I named this work “Index Finger.” I hope it can serve as a chain linking together the Hiroshima Appeals in 2023.