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M+, Hong Kong, © YAYOI KUSAMA
Yayoi Kusama 草間彌生
Self-Obliteration 自我消融
1966–1974
Six adult female mannequins stand casually around a grouping of chairs and a dining table set with cups, plates, plants, and fruit in Kusama’s sculptural work Self Obliteration. The mannequins, which sport wigs styled to reflect the fashions of the late 1960s, make expressive gestures with their hands. They appear to engage in conversation with one another. One might consider this an everyday social gathering were it not for the unusual palatte of colours and patterns that cover nearly every surface in the ensemble. Kusama painted the mannequins, furniture, and objects on the table in what she calls an ‘infinity net’, a repeating pattern rendered in bold colours, which gives the women an otherworldly, reptilian appearance.
Kusama was trained as a painter in Japan. After moving to the United States in 1957, she became an integral member of New York’s avant-garde art scene. The artist has experienced hallucinations since she was ten years old, and she confronts her fears and anxieties through a process she describes as ‘self obliteration’, wherein she becomes fully immersed in the experience of art making. Shortly after returning to Japan in 1973, Kusama checked herself into a psychiatric hospital, where she continues to live and work today.
Kusama was trained as a painter in Japan. After moving to the United States in 1957, she became an integral member of New York’s avant-garde art scene. The artist has experienced hallucinations since she was ten years old, and she confronts her fears and anxieties through a process she describes as ‘self obliteration’, wherein she becomes fully immersed in the experience of art making. Shortly after returning to Japan in 1973, Kusama checked herself into a psychiatric hospital, where she continues to live and work today.
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