Exhibition: Yayoi Kusama
I’d waited over a year to get into this exhibition, weirdly enough this wasn't because of the pandemic but due to the fact the first round of tickets had gone before I’d even got into the online queue. Fortunately I’d managed to get some in the second release, I had heard about Kusama's installations but didn't know too much about her work or inspiration, because of this I had no idea what to expect.
I took my daughter with me as I’m sure you can gather from my previous posts she is my partner in crime when it comes to my gallery trips. Opening her mind to cultures and experiences is very important and with Yayoi creating art you can literally step into I knew she would definitely be intrigued.
Upon entering you see the timeline of Yayoi’s life stamped with images and information about her journey, there are two rooms as part of this exhibition.
Chandelier of Grief 2016
When you enter the hexagonal room you are greeted by a baroque style chandelier which you would call the centre piece as it is the only light source. With everything being mirrored, the walls, celling and underneath the chandelier my initial feeling was, I was standing in a giant kaleidoscope. When looking around, the reflection of the Chandelier then makes it appear as if you are within a grand hall, as it rotates is also occasionally flashes making you feel like you are in an infinite loop. My daughters theory on the piece, it was a room full of jewels and can make you feel dizzy.
The infinity room - Filled with the brilliance of life
Upon entering you are stepping off into the universe, you follow the walkway of black tiles through the room, accompanied by the mirrored walls and the water surrounding the edge of the room making you feel some what suspended, the room has no boundary being infinite. Life's problems, the weather or anything else to do with the day did not seem relevant at that moment in time, it was quite surreal. Hanging from the ceiling are hundreds of small, round LED lights that gently transition into different colour configurations. As the colours changed throughout the room the lights suddenly shut off, when they come back on it is as if you are reset and it is time to move on. In light of all thats going on in the world, one part during the light change really resonated with me. The room went green, which reminded me of a scene from the Matrix, in order to stay sane we must somehow find a way to unplug from the madness, our devices and anything negative or has a hold over our thought process.
