Ei Arakawa-Nash

Mega Please Draw Freely is a participatory floor installation by Ei Arakawa-Nash, first presented in 2021 in the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern in London. The work derives its title and inspiration from Please Draw Freely by Jirō Yoshihara, which was originally unveiled in 1956 in a public park in Ashiya, Hyōgo, Japan. Adults and children were invited to draw on a large white surface—an act that made modern art accessible to everyone beneath the open sky, while dismantling the hierarchies between artist and audience, and between adult and child.

In the spirit of the Japanese postwar avant-garde group Gutai, Arakawa-Nash invites visitors to create a work of art together by drawing directly onto the floor. Photographs from Ashiya Park and sculptural pine trees provide a historical context for the piece, while its open structure fosters energy and collective improvisation.