Yayoi Kusama Light Installation

YAYOI KUSAMA LIGHT INSTALLATION

Last night as I trying to get to sleep, I randomly began thinking of calming things I could picture during my impending driving test, in order to stop me stressing out. I was running things through in my mind, trying to think about what things, memories, scenarios I found calming, pleasing to my soul. I was picturing beaches, sunshine, fields of flowers, all the typical things, but it didn't quite feel right. And then I suddenly remembered the absolutely mesmerising Yayoi Kusama installation that I was lucky enough to see when I went to Copenhagen a couple of weeks ago. I'm such a massive sucker for lights and colour, with lights in particular being something that just captivate me and make me feel so ridiculously happy, calm, content. I was probably a firefly or a moth in another life, so being in that spectacular installation was a true dream come true. It was like being in some sort of intergalactic heaven and I never wanted to leave. And it was as I was in bed last night, thinking of that installation, that I suddenly realised I hadn't told you lovely readers all about it, one of the best things I have ever been lucky enough to experience in my life. So let me describe to you now how amaaaazing the whole Yayoi Kusama experience was. 

The installation we viewed was in the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark, and it was a perfect co-incidence that we happened to be going to Denmark whilst this installation, which I have wanted to view for yeeeeeaaaarrsss (you can read some of my previous gushing here), was on. If you do find yourself going to Denmark in the next few months or so I would highly, highly recommend a visit to Louisiana, half an hour out of Copenhagen, because it is hands down the best art museum I have ever been to (and that's not just because of the Yayoi Kusama artwork, I promise). And when we finally made our way there, naturally I was like a bee drawn to a honey pot, making a beeline (pun partially intended) to the installation. The installation is housed inside a sealed room, which we had to queue outside of as you can only go inside two at a time. I ended up venturing in with my sister, and I cannot stress to you how crazy amazing it was stepping out of reality and into this incredible dream world. You shut the door behind you, blocking out reality for a minute or two, and turn to find yourself in a pitch black room covered from top to bottom with large mirrors. You go down a little walkway, reach a central platform and find yourself surrounded by water. And when you look up you see before you an infinite, endless universe full of lights in the form of LEDs and seemingly floating spheres. The lights go through a series of gradual colour transitions meaning the room hue progresses from gold to red to blue to green and everything in-between, on a continuous loop. As you take in the gentle tones of the light sequence, you look in the mirrors and see yourself repeated a dozen times over, lights are everywhere, stretching out for miles and miles. You turn round and round in circles trying to take it all in, and all you're just encompassed by endless lights, colours and this wonderful feeling of complete peace.

Being in that room was something I will never forget for as long as I live, and having to leave it and re-enter reality once more was something I imagine most people do with a rather heavy heart, me included. It was like finding magic on earth, some small slice of heaven, a parallel universe, and I know I could easily have spent the rest of my life sat there dotted amongst it all. I felt so serene, happy, dazzled, blown away, all thoughts evaporated into thin air. It's hard to truly describe the magic of Yayoi Kusama's installation, although the photos I've included below do give a fairly accurate representation of what it's really like in that special room of wonder. Visiting that installation is one of the best things I've ever done in my life, an unforgettable experience, a treasured memory, and it makes me so happy to be able to share something so important to me with you lovely people. So I hope you enjoy the photos below and that one day you get to experience that magic for yourself too.

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