Doryun Chong:

Looking at this installation, you might imagine that Kusama’s Infinity Net paintings have exploded off the wall, speckling every nearby person and object with multi-coloured dots and nets. Kusama made Self Obliteration in the late 1960s when she was living in New York and actively participating in the hippie counterculture. Kusama staged dozens of performances during which she painted dots on performers’ naked bodies. The dots and nets covering the mannequins, furniture pieces, and other domestic objects before you represent an extension of this practice.

If you look closely, you can notice that the mannequins, all female, sport wigs styled to reflect the fashions of the late 1960s. The pasta strewn across the floor acts almost as a net, enclosing the mannequins in its grasp while also underscoring the surreal nature of this domestic setting.

The intense and somewhat ominous title of this work, Self Obliteration, contrasts playfully with the colourful scene before our eyes. Kusama has explored the concept of ‘obliteration’ throughout her career. It is rooted in the idea of the negative and the positive becoming one. This concept explains her continued obsession with, and use of the polka dot motif. Kusama has said: ‘Polka dots can’t stay alone. When we obliterate nature and our bodies with polka dots we become part of the unity of our environments.’ In this installation, the individuals represented by the mannequins appear to become parts of a larger whole.

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