The retrospective exhibition of the Japanese artist Yayoi Kasuma opened a couple of days ago at the Tate Modern in London. It is on until 5th June and I highly recommend going!
Much of her work is a reflection of her unique vision of the world through hallucinatory experiences. She was a major figure amongst New York avant-garde artists including Andy Warhol and Joseph Cornell. She is now 82, and after checking herself into a mental hospital 35 years ago, she now resides there permanently. Kusama is often quoted as saying "If it were not for art, I would have killed myself a long time ago."
The room-sized installations really stood out for me.
I'm Here, but Nothing displayed a room and all its furnishings covered in fluorescent spot stickers which in dim light glow under UV. And the final room, called the
Infinity Mirrored Room - Filled with the Brilliance of Life is her largest installation created specifically for this exhibition. The walled mirrors reflect the colour changing light bulbs creating an experience of the infinite, inviting the viewer into a space echoing Kusama's ongoing journey of self-obliteration. To find details of the exhibition, visit the Tate Modern website
here.
