'Suffocated': Art becomes form of protest against Olympics

FILE - In this May 9, 2021, file photo, people against the Tokyo 2020 Olympics set to open in July, march to protest around Tokyo's National Stadium during an anti-Olympics demonstration. Polls have found an overwhelming majority of Japanese people are skeptical of the Tokyo Olympics being held this summer during a pandemic, but only a few have publicly marched to protest. But there are creative projects that are looking to protest the increasingly unpopular Tokyo Olympics, even as authorities seek to shut them down. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Designer Susumu Kikutake shows anti-Olympics T-shirt during an interview with the Associated Press in Tokyo, Wednesday, June 9, 2021. An online article showcasing his design calling for the Olympics to be cancelled resulted in harsh online comments, and he sold only around 10 shirts a month before the pandemic. But demand for the t-shirts has boomed in the past two months, with sales reaching 100 shirts in April and 250 in May. The characters on the shirt read "Cancelation, Cancelation". (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

Japanese artist Miwako Sakauchi speaks about her art work for Art Exhibition "Declaration of the end of Olympic games" in Chiba near Tokyo Thursday, June 10, 2021. Sakauchi created the paintings after she was contacted by a group of artists who organized an anti-Olympics art exhibit last summer. Her works were displayed in another exhibition in February. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japanese artist Miwako Sakauchi speaks about her art work for Art Exhibition "Declaration of the end of Olympic games" in Chiba near Tokyo Thursday, June 10, 2021. Polls have found an overwhelming majority of Japanese people are skeptical of the Tokyo Olympics being held this summer during a pandemic, but only a few have publicly marched to protest. But there are creative projects that are looking to protest the increasingly unpopular Tokyo Olympics, even as authorities seek to shut them down. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People who are against the Tokyo 2020 Olympics set to open in July, march around Tokyo's National Stadium, back, during an anti-Olympics demonstration Sunday, May 9, 2021. Polls have found an overwhelming majority of Japanese people are skeptical of the Tokyo Olympics being held this summer during a pandemic, but only a few have publicly marched to protest. But there are creative projects that are looking to protest the increasingly unpopular Tokyo Olympics, even as authorities seek to shut them down. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japanese artist Miwako Sakauchi speaks about her art work for an art exhibition "Declaration of the end of Olympic games" in Chiba near Tokyo Thursday, June 10, 2021. “What I can do instead of going to (anti-Olympics) protests is to use my expertise in art,” said Sakauchi of her motivation to produce the paintings. She has never participated in street protests or incorporated political issues into her abstract paintings in the past, but the Tokyo Olympics have been a tipping point. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Doctor Sachihiro Ochi holds his work during an interview with the Associated Press in Yokohama near Tokyo, Tuesday, June 15, 2021. Ochi, artist who joined the anti-Olympic exhibition, also social worker and doctor in a clinic near Yokohama Stadium, which will host Olympic baseball and softball games. He says Yokohama and Tokyo, have hardened their policies on the homeless because of the Olympics. Public spaces that were once open are now covered with colored cones and obstacles to keep away the homeless, he said. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

FILE - In this May 19, 2020, file photo, the cover design of Number 1 Shimbun is seen in Tokyo, Tuesday, May 19, 2020. The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan removed a parody drawing that uses the Tokyo Olympic logo combined with features of the COVID-19 virus from their website after receiving a demand for withdrawal from the organizing committee. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Japanese artist Miwako Sakauchi speaks about her art work for Art Exhibition "Declaration of the end of Olympic games" in Chiba near Tokyo, Thursday, June 10, 2021. Polls have found an overwhelming majority of Japanese people are skeptical of the Tokyo Olympics being held this summer during a pandemic, but only a few have publicly marched to protest. But there are creative projects that are looking to protest the increasingly unpopular Tokyo Olympics, even as authorities seek to shut them down. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Designer Susumu Kikutake speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in Tokyo, Wednesday, June 9, 2021. An online article showcasing his design calling for the Olympics to be cancelled resulted in harsh online comments, and he sold only around 10 shirts a month before the pandemic. But demand for the t-shirts has boomed in the past two months, with sales reaching 100 shirts in April and 250 in May. The characters on the shirt read "Cancelation, Cancelation". (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)