27/08/2026
“My work is based on developing my psychological problems into art.”
Yayoi Kusama
Very sad to wake up to the news of the passing of Yayoi Kusama at the age 97.
It’s easy to look at Kusama’s bright pumpkins and endless fields of dots and see pure optimism. But Kusama didn’t paint dots because they were cute; she painted them to keep the demons at bay. Drawing on experiences of hallucinations, trauma and anxiety, she transformed repetition into a language of its own, turning the chaos of her inner world into something universal.
For more than seven decades, she kept translating that inner world into one we could all step inside. And perhaps that is one of the most extraordinary things about Kusama: she never simply represented infinity. She gave us a way to experience it.
So thank you, Kusama, for showing us that art isn’t just an aesthetic pursuit, but can be an anchor to life itself, a path toward survival and connection. The world is immeasurably richer for the worlds you created, and for the darkness you transformed into light.
You conquered the world on your own terms, because your universe was always far bigger than the physical space you occupied.
Rest in power, you magnificent titan.
