Catalogue Note:
Plagued from a young age by visual and aural hallucinations, Kusama faces her mental illness candidly in “Watermelon.” The flamboyant, playful colors of the piece juxtapose sharply with the jarring effect of the fractured lines which recall the Infinity Nets of Kusama’s early series. Creating a mosaic effect, the two dimensional shapes of each individual fruit take shape in cracked, contrasting simplicity. Complementing the two-dimensional flatness of the nets, Kusama adds dimension and variance by echoing the roundness of some fruits with her iconic polka dots. The splintered scene of Fruits “Watermelon” provides the viewer with a glimpse into the fractured yet ultimately connected visualizations of Yayoi Kusama as the artist reconciles her mental obstacles through her creation of art. “Artists,” states Yayoi Kusama, “do not usually express their own psychological complexes directly. But I use my complexes and fears as subjects.”