Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirror Rooms
One aspect from the world of art is that what we see, hear, feel and smell often gives us the moment to reflect on the beauty of the world, the beauty within the world, the beauty within people, the beauty within creations be they made by Mother Nature or humans.
You have recently seen some of the latest paintings by South Australian artist Rowdy Wylie where he showcased the Colours of the Outback and the Colours of the Outback Opal Fields.
What always brings joy to my heart and mind is the wonderful breadth of variety we can experience in the world of creative art designs.
Today some images from an exhibition I attended at the Tate Modern showcasing the works of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirror Rooms. The purpose of these immersive installations is to transport you into Kusama’s unique vision of endless reflections.1
Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese artist and writer. Across her career, she has made paintings, sculptures, performances and installations. For Kusama, the experience of art is about more than just looking. It can also be about stepping into the artwork and being immersed in it, as in her Infinity Mirror Rooms.1
Kusama was born in Matsumoto, Japan, in 1929. This was a time of economic crisis and growing nationalism, when Japanese traditions and social conservatism were strongly promoted. She started making art as a child. Although her family discouraged her, she went on to study painting in Kyoto. Looking for ‘unlimited freedom, and a wider world’, she moved to the United States in 1957. She spent the 1960s in New York, immersing herself in the fastmoving art scene there.1
She returned to Japan in 1973. Kusama has experienced mental health problems throughout her life and around this time she began to have acute hallucinations. In response, she admitted herself to a Tokyo hospital in 1977. She still lives there to this day, with her studio close by. ‘I write novels and poems, and I also paint in the hospital. They are my saviours,’ she reflects.1
The first of the mirrored installations is called The Universe as seen from the Stairway to Heaven.
It is impossible to recreate the experience of looking into the windows and the reflections which occur through the multicoloured circles but this is what the installation looks like through the eyes of an outsider.
However, I can show you what it was like inside the other two far more complicated and indeed challenging installations. The first I went inside was the Chandelier of Grief - a room which creates the illusion of a boundless universe of rotating crystal chandeliers.1.
Inside...the reflected space goes on forever. An ornate chandelier with flickering lights rotates from the ceiling. A never-ending field of lights surrounds you. Our reflections form part of the experience. This means every visit is unique. 1
Kusama called this work Chandelier of Grief. It suggests that we can experience beauty and sadness at the same time.1
The third and final installation I experienced was the Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled with the Brilliance of Life - one of Kusama’s largest installations to date and was made for her 2012 retrospective at Tate Modern.
In this work, you’ll move along a reflective walkway over a shallow pool. Around you, tiny dots of light are repeated endlessly in the mirrors and water. The lights pulse, like a heartbeat or a ticking clock. Even while we experience Kusama’s infinite space, we are made aware of time passing. Kusama created this work for her 2012 retrospective exhibition at Tate Modern.1
In Kusama’s visual hallucinations, she becomes ‘obliterated’ by repeated dots. Here she invites us to share this ‘selfobliteration’. The dots surround and engulf you, making it hard to tell where you end and where the rest of the room begins. Usually, when we experience art, there’s a clear distinction between us and the artwork. But Kusama confuses this on purpose. To experience her mirror rooms, she asks us to become part of them.1
I did make a little video (below) to show you what the experience was like but if you suffer from migraines or negative reaction associated with multitudes of very bright and moving lights it is not wise for you to enter this space.
And this video from the TATE gives a small presentation of photographs and moving image – some on display for the first time – and provides historical context for the global phenomenon that Kusama’s mirrored rooms have become today.1
I will be back soon with more from the various art exhibitions I saw while on holiday in the UK - including something on the art of buildings.
If you would like to learn more about Yayoi Kusama and her art works please follow the bookmark link below.
Credit
1. tate.org.uk