Installation Artist Research - Yayoi Kusama

The artist I have chosen to research is the fabulous Yayoi Kusama. I have always really admired her work and I find it super interesting, so I thought she would be a great installation artist to post on my blog. 

Since 1977 Kusama has lived voluntarily in a psychiatric institution, and much of her work has been marked with obsessiveness and a desire to escape from psychological trauma. In an attempt to share her experiences, she creates installations that immerse the viewer in her obsessive vision of endless dots and nets or infinitely mirrored space.

Thinking about our theme of Maps and Networks, I think Kusama's work is quite appropriate when thinking about our minds as a map of our personalities and our lives. Yayoi Kusama has created artwork to escape her thoughts and her minds, meaning her art can be quite relatable in this project. 

One of the pieces I really liked was her Obliteration Room installation, which started as a blank canvas but invited people to completely cover the room in colourful dots, bringing everyone together to help create the final art piece. It's interesting how the piece finally came together with the input of others, taking the control out of her hands entirely. 

I also looked at one of Kusama's most recent pieces, The Infinity Mirrors, which all display her seemingly endless artwork due to the use of mirrors. There are several different Infinity Mirror displays, the video below shows the use of LED lights to continue into eternity. Over the course of her career, Kusama has produced more than twenty distinct Infinity Mirror Rooms.

More examples of The Infinity Mirrors installations: