The Fourth Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

YAYO I KUSAMA Narcissus garden 1966 Performance 33rd Venice Biennale Courtesy: Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo Furthering this reflective mode are various incarnations of Kusama's Narcissus garden 1966, an environmental work that has held the artist's attention for over 40 years. Here Kusama creates a carpet of mirrored spheres. Reflective and moonlike, these repetitions could be seen as another variation of her 'Infinity net' works. This vast sea of mirror balls reflect one another creating an infinitely recurring web in which the surrounding visible world is trapped and perpetuated. Kusama writes: A polka dot has the form of the sun which is a symbol of the energy of [the] whole world and our living life, and also the form of the moon which is calm, round, soft, colourful, senseless and unknowing. Polka dots can't stay alone, like the communicative life of people . .. Our earth is only one polka dot among the million stars in the cosmos . When we obliterate nature and our bodies with polka dots, we become part of the unity of our environment, I become part of the eternal, and we obliterate ourselves in love.' Narcissus garden first appeared at the Venice Biennale in 1966 when Kusama, although uninvited, installed 1500 plastic reflective balls on the grass outside the Italian Pavilion. Dressed in a gold kimono, the artist distributed printed accolades on her work by Herbert Read and attempted to sell her reflective multiples at 1200 lire each. This caused huge consternation among the authorities, who were offended by this act of blatant commercialism. In stark contrast nearly thirty years later in 1993, Kusama was the first individual artist and only woman to officially represent Japan with a pavilion at Venice. Fireflies on the water 2000 Mirror, water, fibre optic lights Dimensions variable Collection: Fonds National d'.Art Contemporain, Puteaux Some describe Kusama's time as now. Although many of her 'Mirror/Infinity rooms' were devised decades ago, they are only today being realised, extending the personal vision that has nourished and plagued the artist's life and work. In these works true synthesis occurs between the intangible mystery of the artist's unique perception and the sensory experience offered to others by her art. As visitors within the mesmerising environments of these 'Mirror/Infinity rooms' we can draw near to Kusama's experiential world. With arresting immediacy, these spaces demand the immersion and attention of our being, re-creating for us the reverberations and unwavering urgency of her art Rhana Devenport is Senior Project Officer, Asia-Pacific Triennial, at the Queensland Art Gallery. 61