Yoshitomo Nara is a pioneering figure in contemporary art whose signature style—which expresses children in a range of emotional complexities from resistance and rebellion to quietude and contemplation—celebrates the introspective freedom of the imagination and the individual. The original exhibit Will the Circle Be Unbroken was originally shown in Tokyo in 2017 as a collection of photographs taken by the artist. For the exhibit, Nara described photography as a means to train and "rehydrate" his sensibilities, focusing less on the quality of the photographs and more on capturing the environment surrounding him and his work in a different media.