Death in Paradise

Females in the pop art style with insect-like arms and legs appear in works from early in Ikeda's career, drawn in a scribbled style with drypoint lines. While the planes of color, leaning forward diagonally, create an atmosphere of turbulence, elements such as cats and logos are also brought in decoratively, symbolically expressing how everyday life flowed along without involvement during the Vietnam War. It was one of the pieces exhibited at the Venice Biennale, an authority on international woodblock prints, and the great honor of winning first prize in the woodblock print category further enhanced its reputation.