National Gallery of Victoria Shows 10 Iconic Yayoi Kusama Pieces in Melbourne

Yayoi Kusama’s unmistakable polka dots, reflective installations and absurdly titled artwork have shaped global art movements of the 20th and 21st centuries covering minimalism, pop art, and feminist art all in one fell swoop. Mumbai got a glimpse of her hypnotic world through Infinity Mirrored Room―The Eternally Infinite Light of the Universe Illuminating the Quest for Truth (2020), part of her renowned Infinity Mirrored Room series, displayed at NMACC since 2023.

As we make our way into 2025, Melbourne is raising the stakes. From December 15, the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) has been hosting 10 seminal Kusama’s works in Australia, offering a feast for the senses that stretches far beyond what Mumbai had on display. At its heart lies this world premiere of the latest addition to the Infinity Mirrored Room series, Infinity Mirrored Room–My Heart is Filled to the Brim with Sparkling Light (2024). The piece envelops viewers in a boundless universe, capturing what Kusama calls “a mysterious energy…growing and growing, never stops.”

Still, this is only the the appetiser. Towering six-metre polka-dotted tendrils twist and writhe in The Hope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover the Universe (2019), a kinetic installation that feels alive as you move through it. Kusama’s enduring exploration of infinity comes alive here, echoing her belief in nature’s limitless energy. Her trademark polka dots—symbols of both the individual and the cosmos—extend this idea further in Dots Obsession (1996/2024), a room where inflatable shapes and mirrors create a mesmerising semblance of infinite proliferation.

Elsewhere, Kusama takes her audience through a medley of emotions. Chandelier of Grief (2016), a rotating chandelier encased in a mirrored room, evokes an unsettling mix of beauty and longing. In Love is Calling (2013), tentacle-like forms in vivid hues seem to beckon the viewer into an otherworldly embrace. These pieces play with perception and emotion, inviting visitors to reconsider their relationship with space and time.

Moving from the surreal to the intimate, The Spirits of the Pumpkins Descended into the Heavens (2017) offers a hidden realm of glowing pumpkins, accessible through a small aperture. This installation transforms a humble object into a profound meditation on infinity, balancing whimsy with transcendence.

Unlike traditional exhibitions, this one doesn’t just ask visitors to observe—it invites them to participate. In The Obliteration Room (2002–present), an entirely white room becomes a riot of colour as visitors add to the space with bright dots, their contributions layering over time to create a collective artwork. Similarly, Flower Obsession (2017) transforms a domestic setting into a floral wonderland, as red flowers gradually take over walls and objects. These participatory works reflect Kusama’s belief in art as a dynamic, evolving process shaped by those who engage with it.

Further into the gallery, visitors encounter Invisible Life (2000/24), a corridor of convex mirrors twisting reflections into abstract forms, and With All My Love for the Tulips, I Pray Forever (2013), where oversized tulips dwarf viewers in a kaleidoscopic, polka-dotted universe.

As NGV Director Tony Ellwood AM aptly puts it, this exhibition is “an ambitious and logistical feat never-before-attempted anywhere else in the world.” By uniting ten of Kusama’s most monumental works, the NGV creates a singular opportunity to experience her artistic legacy in one place. Spanning her career—from her early days in 1930s Japan to her contemporary global acclaim—the showcase also includes pieces from her personal collection and institutional loans across Japan and Australia.

Born in Matsumoto, Japan, Kusama’s ouevre has been indelibly shaped by her childhood experiences, including hallucinations that overwhelmed her sense of self. She has explained these visions as part of an obsessional neurosis that has driven her to create art for nearly nine decades. Today, Kusama is renowned globally for her singular and idiosyncratic use of pattern, colour and symbols to create immersive, thought-provoking and intensely personal works of art.