28/08/2026
Yesterday, I learned of the passing of Yayoi Kusama and found myself looking through old photos from two of her exhibitions I got to see in person.
Yayoi Kusama: Life is the Heart of a Rainbow at Brisbane’s GOMA in 2018, and
Yayoi Kusama at the NGV in 2025.
Born in Matsumoto, Japan, Kusama grew up on a plant nursery and seed farm where she revelled in the nature surrounding her.
At a young age Kusama adopted the pumpkin as a recurring motif in her art. She first saw a pumpkin as a primary-school student while visiting a seed-harvesting nursery with her grandfather. Among yellow flowering vines, she discovered a pumpkin the size of a man’s head and, as she went to pluck it, it began to speak to her in an animated manner.
She experienced the death of several significant people in her life, including her father in 1974. In 1977, Kusama voluntarily admitted herself to a psychiatric hospital. She maintained a studio nearby and travelled between the hospital and her studio to create art.
Kusama was also an accomplished writer. Alongside her paintings, sculptures and immersive installations, she wrote novels, poetry and an autobiography titled “Infinity Net”, making her creative practice much broader than her famous polka dots
Seeing the sheer scale, imagination and enormity of her work in person was unforgettable. Her remarkable artistic legacy will continue forever, one dot at a time.
