World renown artist Yayoi Kusama has said that as a child she saw polka dots any place she would walk. Kusama began painting at ten with the colored polka dots, putting her hallucinations into her work from the start. Throughout her life, her enigmatic state has become a gift and a curse. Since 1974 she has been living in a mental hospital (by choice) in Tokyo. From there, she travels daily to a studio close by.
Kusama's newest exhibition entitled "Dots Obsession - Love Transformed into Dots," can now be seen at SKUM Sørlandets Kunstmuseum in Norway. Her large-scale installations give visitors a look at the artist's mind and hallucinations. In the release for the exhibit, she writes, "Forget yourself. Become one with eternity. Become part of your environment. Make love."
Visitors can see large polka-dot balloons on the ceiling and lying on the floor with the 2006 work. Kusama can be seen in a video projection, appearing in the installation while covered in dots and consuming flowers. Her theme of embracing smallness and becoming incorporated into the universe is on full display.
[via HuffingtonPost / ArtDaily]
