Yayoi Kusama’s exhibition at Tate Modern

Liz Nicholls

Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms show at Tate Modern has been extended until April. Liz Nicholls steps inside

Who doesn’t want to be fired up with The Brilliance Of Life?

I’ve followed many an avenue in quest of this. And Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms at the Tate Modern have been lighting up various social media feeds in my orbit all summer.

The installations (originally made for Kusama’s 2012 retrospective at Tate Modern) have proved so popular with visitors that the run has been extended until next spring.

A trip to Tate Modern, and the buzzing South Bank, is always a delight, and this celebration of the stellar Japanese artist, now aged 93, provides a trippy treat for the senses.

Kusama, who has been affected by hallucinations for much of her life, makes art that tries to show things “only the mind can see”, and it’s a fabulous way to highlight awareness of mental health.

A trippy treat for the senses

Seen from the outside, the space occupied by the two installations is tiny, which tickles your sense of time and space. Houses in a hexagonal unit the size of a parking space, stepping inside Chandelier of Grief is a discombobulating experience, fizzing and popping a boundless universe of rotating crystal chandeliers that threaten to smash and splinter.

Meanwhile, the watery walkway through the boxed Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled with the Brilliance of Life seems to offer a sense of limitless serenity. Each visit is two minutes (time enough to grab that obligatory selfie) and I recommend making a return trip in and through, for a different experience, on another level (ie sitting down, or taking a different angle).

Small yet perfectly formed on the outside, the light fantastic space offers a rare chance to step inside the mind of one of the world’s most iconic living contemporary artists. This has been one of the hottest tickets in town this summer, and doesn’t disappoint, offering an all-encompassing sense of wonder and freedom.

Find out more

For furthe details, see The Tate’s website www.tate.org.uk

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