During a stay in New York, Daniel Spoerri saw a small bronze figure with outstretched arms on the desk of the artist Ay-O. The little bowl of rice next to it was soon explained. If a few grains of rice were placed in the boy’s mouth, they would fall through and out of his rear, after going through a very short digestive tract. Ay-O immediately agreed to transform his little sculpture, with his cry of »Banzai!« wishing happiness, success and good health, into a lifesize version. In order to do this, he first required a clay model with which the caster Pietro Caporrella could make the bronze sculpture. Little bags of rice are available at the reception desk.