Yayoi Kusama, Victoria Miro Gallery

Attention all lovers of spot patterns!

I was lucky enough to go to the Yayoi Kusama exhibition back in November 2018 and have just found my photos. Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese artist whose work bridges several artistic genres including surrealism, pop art and abstraction.

The first pieces feature small black spots clustered together with varying degrees of intensity across lacquered sculptures and canvases. There is an optical illusion effect if you stare at them long enough. It just shows that even with only one tiny motif, an interesting pattern can emerge. The larger works include more abstract motifs of personal self-expression which were rather reminiscent of Aboriginal paintings.

The highlight of the exhibition is an installation ‘Mirror Room’ which you are only allowed to enjoy for 3 minutes (due to the huge queue). You are warned about potential disorientation before you enter the dark mirrored room filled with hanging balls emitting coloured light. It truly is a wonderfully confusing and immersive experience – if only I could have stayed longer!

Hopefully these photos will inspire more spot patterns.

Until next time my creative crew,

Joanna