Yayoi Kusama is perhaps the most well-known for her polka dots, pumpkins, and infinity mirror rooms. Her exhibition YAYOI KUSAMA: The Life is the Heart of the Rainbow, first in Southeast Asia, includes with her work throughout her 70 years. This is over 120 works, including all fifty pieces of the Love Forever series. It will run June 9 to September 3, 2017.
Yayoi Kusama has captured the world as a living contemporary artists. As she’s said herself, we cannot separate her art from her mental health, about which she openly speaks. She’s had hallucinations since age ten, described as fields of dots, and her home since 1977 has been in a private psychiatric clinic. Her studio is nearby and she remains a working artist. Without knowing her story, we may see her fun polka dots as light-hearted and expressions of happiness. The repeating dot patterns, a motif since 1950, reflect her earlier visual experiences, a theme of self-oliberation.
When we obliterate nature and our bodies with polka dogs, we become part of the unity of our environment.
Yayoi Kusama
My friend gave me his invitation to the pre-opening gala of Yayoi Kusama’s exhibition in Singapore. So I spent the evening at the National Gallery, a space that’s been Kusama-fied. The polka dot motif decorated the museum. Gigantic polka dot balls hanging from the ceiling above the cocktails and silver circles adorning glass doors. It was such an interesting experience being immersed in her world, seeing my own reflections from the mirrors and stainless steel balls. 1,500 of them. This installation, Narcissus Garden, was first created for the 33rd Venice Biennale in 1966.
Gleaming of the Souls
This was my second time seeing Yayoi Kusama. In 2015, on my trip to Copenhagen, I visited the Louisiana Museum. Part of their permanent collection is The Gleaming of the Souls. It was such a profound experience, and I would even call it spiritual. It felt like being one with the pulse of the universe.
I didn’t know what the door led to and when I stepped inside the mirror-lined room, with pulsing orbs of light, to say it was incredible and beyond words is an understatement. Arriving late, when the museum was almost closing, I was left to my devices (literally) and allowed myself to immerse in this illusion of infinite space that’s been created by the reflective surfaces. I stitched together a few clips below, with music by Matthew L. Fisher.
Yayoi Kusama created the first infinity mirror room in 1965, as a solution to the labour-intensive process of sewing stuffed fabric tubes for an installation. The reflection allowed her to transcend the physical constraints of making the volume she wanted, while discovering a breakthrough in art form. In each of her infinity mirror room installations, the visitor becomes part of the subject in infinite space.
The National Gallery was a great venue for this exhibition. Going solo, I took my time to walk through the various spaces and the different periods of her work and being immersed in it. I viewed the artwork as much as I watched the people interacting with the art. Many were dressed in polka dots and there was just an excited buzz the whole night. I was happy to have experienced the infinity room at the Louisiana Museum, instead of waiting in line, which was unsurprisingly long. It’s such an amazing installation that it would be worth it. If you do have a chance, go for it.
