Originally conceived by Yoko Ono in 1967, A Box of Smile invites the viewer to open a small box and discover a mirror inside. Its title functions as a kind of instruction, performed by any viewer who smiles in surprise at their own reflection, turning the work into a “collection box” for a smile that can be carried from one person to another.

In A Box of Smile, Ono also playfully redefines the traditional genre of self-portraiture. Rather than presenting an image of the artist, the work continually produces a new portrait, making the viewer its subject. 

The idea belongs to a wider preoccupation in Ono’s work at the time with the smile as something at once individual and universal. In 1967, the same year she conceived A Box of Smile, Ono wrote that her ultimate goal in film-making was "to make a film which includes a smiling face snap of every single human being in the world.” 

Created exclusively for The Broad in conjunction with Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind, this 2026 limited edition is handmade in mirrored stainless steel, with a mirror inset into the base and an engraved facade. Produced in an edition of 81 + 9 artist’s proofs, each artwork is engraved with its edition number and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity stamped with the artist’s inkan.

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© Yoko Ono 2026

To learn more about the Yoko Ono exhibition currently on view at The Broad, please visit https://www.thebroad.org/art/special-exhibitions/yoko-ono-music-mind