A) Let images speak for themselves (or in this case, installation art.)
The Infinity Mirrored Room: Filled with the Brilliance of Life by Yayoi Kusuma (2011)
Image source: Tate Modern, London. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian.
B) How I fell for contemporary art.
Let's rewind to tell this tale. A few years ago, I didn't need such a high prescription for my glasses and experienced my first non-school excursion walk around an art museum. My sister invited me along to an exhibition called The Mirrored Years - a showcase of Yayoi Kusuma's artworks at the MCA in Sydney in 2009. She lured me in with the promise of colourful rooms with a ton of pretty lights and polka dots (which may make me sound like a seven year old.) She dangled this one picture as a hook:
Let's rewind to tell this tale. A few years ago, I didn't need such a high prescription for my glasses and experienced my first non-school excursion walk around an art museum. My sister invited me along to an exhibition called The Mirrored Years - a showcase of Yayoi Kusuma's artworks at the MCA in Sydney in 2009. She lured me in with the promise of colourful rooms with a ton of pretty lights and polka dots (which may make me sound like a seven year old.) She dangled this one picture as a hook:
Fireflies on the Water:
Image source: Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Photograph courtesy Robert Miller Gallery.
More info about this artwork - here.
The best thing about contemporary art is being able to witness it - or in this case - physically immersing yourself in the artwork. I remember walking out onto a platform in the middle of the room and being surrounded by a swarm of lights multiplied by mirrors. Some people behind us waved their arms around to create a Ganesh-like illusion - thus - like dominoes in a line, we ended up playing with our reflections before the time was up. I regret not taking a photograph of that random moment.
I remember seeing a Florence + the Machine music video featuring a similar mirrored room with lights:
The artworks in The Mirrored Years exhibition - whether visual, interactive or audiovisual - played with a psychadelic sense of perception, hallucination and the self. Some other artworks that have stuck in my mind ever since that visit:
Narcissus' Garden by Yayoi Kusuma (1966/2002)
Image source: Queensland Art Gallery. Photograph: Matthew Cassay.
The Obliteration Room Yayoi Kusuma (2011)
Image source: Gallery of Modern Art. Photograph: Mark Sherwood. More info & photos here.
This picture speaks to my inner child's (polka dot fevered) sense of wonder & stimuli overload.
If you're curious about Yayoi Kusuma's life and works - check out her bio, galleries and current exhibition dates at her official website.
Words by Glaiza Perez.
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