The exhibition “Yayoi Kusama: Infinite Obsession”, brought to Brazil by the Tomie Ohtake Institute, opened on the 12th October 2023 at CCBB Rio de Janeiro. The exhibition brings together the work of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, ranging from paintings to performances and spanning the artist’s career from 1950’s to the present day.
Born in the city of Matsumoto in 1928, in rural Japan, the artist began painting at a young age, influenced by traditional Japanese painting – Nihonga. She moved to New York in 1958, where she came into contact with the work of Joan Miró and Max Ernst, who went on to become major influences for her.
Since childhood, the artist has suffered from an illness that causes her to experience hallucinations and depression. Among her hallucinations, the artist reports seeing the figures in her paintings break free from their frames, spreading across the walls of the room. Her characteristic little dots, which recur throughout her work, are nothing more than representations of these visual explosions.
““a polka-dot has the form of the sun, which is a symbol of the energy of the whole world and our living life, and also the form of the moon, which is calm. Round, soft, colorful, senseless and unknowing. Polka-dots become movement… Polka dots are a way to infinity”.
— Yayoi Kusama
Below, we see a photo of her installation ‘Infinity Mirror Room’, in which a series of mirrors placed opposite one another expand our sense of space. We cannot see a physical boundary and, as a result, the light dots seem to multiply endlessly.
‘Sexual Obsession’ and ‘Food Obsession’
The ‘Obsession’ in the exhibition’s title refers to a compulsive focus on two themes in particular : food and sex. According to the artist, she considers both themes to be intertwined with pathology and disorders. Penetration, in both contexts, becomes something almost pathological, a phobia for the artist.
The photograph below was taken inside the artwork ‘Infinity Mirror Room – Phalli’s Field’. We are enclosed in a room where the walls are covered in mirrors, infinitely expanding the space. The floor is covered with phallic shapes adorned with the artist’s signature dots. The fact that it is an enclosed room, rather than a passageway as in the previous installation, heightens a sense of claustrophobia. Here, her obsession is taken to the extreme.
What is most striking is the scale of the pieces. In the installation “I Am Here, But Nothing”, we step into a room and find ourselves completely surrounded by little dots. We are immersed in by Yayoi’s universe. At that moment, we realise what it must be like to see the world through her eyes.
Below are some images of the stunning installation in the CCBB rotunda, around which the exhibition is organised. The floating spheres highlight the rotunda’s circular plan. Despite their size, the large spheres convey a sense of lightness. Even passers-by, who are not there to visit the exhibition, get a glimpse of the Japanese artist’s striking work.
The exhibition will remain on display until the 20th January 2014 at the Banco do Brasil Cultural Centre in Rio de Janeiro (CCBB-RJ).
