In the face of uncertain times celebrated Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama offered up a brief moment of pause on Wednesday through the power of a poem she wrote about the coronavirus pandemic. Her bold works have long tackled current events, from the Vietnam War to same-sex marriage; from Asian-American stereotype to gender roles.
"Today, with the world facing COVID-19, I feel the necessity to address it with this message," reads her message on the Victoria Miro gallery website.
The
poem that follows extends words of hope, love and defiance: "To
COVID-19 that stands in our way," she writes, "I say Disappear from this
earth."
The 91-year-old artist, famous for her polka dot artwork says now is the time
"to stand up," expressing gratitude to those "who are already fighting." She signs off as, "Revolutionist of the world of the Art."
Kusama, is one of the most
well-known, influential and beloved artists alive today. Her work is based in conceptual art and shows some attributes to feminism. minimalism, surrealism, Art Brut, pop art and abstract expressionism and is infused with autobiographical content.and is characterised by obsessiveness and a desire to
escape psychological trauma.
Open about her own mental-health issues, she has lived voluntarily in a Japanese psychiatric institution since 1977. It was in this stable environment, nurtured by doctors interested in art therapy, that she began to rehabilitate her career and her mental health. From a workspace at the hospital and from her studio nearby in Shinjuku, aided by assistants, she began to churn out work, from paintings and sculptures to novels, poems, and other literature.
Open about her own mental-health issues, she has lived voluntarily in a Japanese psychiatric institution since 1977. It was in this stable environment, nurtured by doctors interested in art therapy, that she began to rehabilitate her career and her mental health. From a workspace at the hospital and from her studio nearby in Shinjuku, aided by assistants, she began to churn out work, from paintings and sculptures to novels, poems, and other literature.
Her famous polka-dots were inspired by a psychotic
episode during her childhood, after which she painted them. She
described the experience as such: “One day, I was looking at the red
flower patterns of the tablecloth on a table, and when I looked up I saw
the same pattern covering the ceiling, the windows and the walls, and
finally all over the room, my body and the universe.” The polka-dot .has
since become Kusama’s most defining and well-recognized motif, appearing
in her art throughout her career.
After a period of relative isolation, Kusama reentered the international art world in the Venice Biennale
in 1993. Her dotted pumpkin sculptures were very successful and became a
staple of her work from the 1990s to now. It came to represent a kind
of alter-ego. She has become hugely popular in recent years with her art tours in
America and Europe, as well as her large-scale solo exhibitions in
Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Seoul and Taiwan. In 2017, a five-story
museum dedicated to her work opened in Tokyo.
Kasuma's work old and new, continue to draw huge crowds. Her most well-known work is her set of
‘Infinity Rooms,’that in the past five years has drawn over 5 million people around the globe to step inside her feature rooms with mirrored walls and ceilings,
giving the viewer the sense that they are within infinity itself..Kusama’s work exemplifies the experience of humanity
within infinity: we are dually connected to infinity and lost within it.
The artist, like many others, have had their exhibitions
delayed, postponed and some altogether cancelled in these difficult and
unprecedented times. Kusama’s exhibition at Tate Modern
was supposed to open in May to celebrate the gallery’s 20th birthday,
but it is now closed until further notice, with no revised opening date
announced yet. They would have featured two of her rooms: Infinity Mirrored Room — Filled With the Brilliance of Life (one of the Kusama's largest-ever installations) and Chandelier of Grief (a room that appears as an endless universe of rotating crystal chandeliers). For now you can read her poem of hope in dark times in its entirety below,A MESSAGE FROM YAYOI KUSAMA TO THE WHOLE WORLD
Though it glistens just out of reach, I continue to pray for hope to shine through
Its glimmer lighting our way
This long awaited great cosmic glow
Now that we find ourselves on the dark side of the world
The gods will be there to strengthen the hope we have spread throughout the
universe
For those left behind, each person’s story and that of their loved ones
It is time to seek a hymn of love for our souls
In the midst of this historic menace, a brief burst of light points to the future
Let us joyfully sing this song of a splendid future
Let's go
Embraced in deep love and the efforts of people all over the world
Now is the time to overcome, to bring peace
We gathered for love and I hope to fulfil that desire
The time has come to fight and overcome our unhappiness
To COVID-19 that stands in our way
I say Disappear from this earth
We shall fight
We shall fight this terrible monster
Now is the time for people all over the world to stand up
My deep gratitude goes to all those who are already fighting.
Revolutionist of the world by the Art
From Yayoi Kusama