Modern Art by Yayoi Kusama

I went to East London recently to see Yayoi Kusama’s famous mirror room installation at the Victoria Miro Gallery. The exhibition is called Yayoi Kusama: The Moving Moment When I Went to the Universe and coincides with a film release about this fascinating Japanese artist.

Despite being born into a wealthy family, Kusama had a difficult childhood and at a young age started experiencing hallucinations.  Only through drawing and painting did she find an outlet to deal with the shock and fear of the strange things she saw.  Many of these things have become signatures of her work, from talking flowers to polka dot pumpkins and bursts of light in the sky.

Some of these key pieces were on display in this recent exhibition, including the main feature, an infinite mirror room with colour-changing glowing spheres.

View of Pumpkin Gallery

 

 

Despite being rushed through the mirrored room, it was a surreal feeling being surrounded by these glowing orbs that seemed to go on forever.  These rooms were designed by the artist to impart the isolation and disorientation she experiences in her life.  As I walked through, it was hard to tell where my path started and where to plant my next step while I tried to take in all the moving, pulsating objects around me and focus on my path.

Although the artist now lives voluntarily in a psychiatric hospital, Kusama continues to be very prolific in her work, painting and creating every day.  She captures the imagination of people around the world with her mesmerising exhibitions and this one is no exception.