Year 12 Art Creative Practice Excursion to NGV: Experiencing Yayoi Kusama

Our Year 12 Art Creative Practice students recently visited the National Gallery of Victoria to experience Yayoi Kusama, a breathtaking retrospective of one of the most celebrated contemporary artists. Running until 21 April 2025, the exhibition showcases Kusama’s lifelong exploration of infinity, repetition, and self-obliteration.

Students attended a lecture on Kusama’s life and practice, gaining insight into her journey from an aspiring artist in Japan to an avant-garde icon in New York. This experience will inform their studies as they analyse her work and apply her ideas to evolve their own creative practice.

Highlights included the world-premiere Infinity Mirrored Room—My Heart is Filled to the Brim with Sparkling Light and The Spirits of the Pumpkins Descended into the Heavens (2017), an immersive installation that dissolves boundaries between artwork and observer. Seeing these works in person reinforced the irreplaceable power of physical experience—of being fully immersed in an artist’s vision rather than observing it from a screen.

Kusama’s ability to transform personal struggles into mesmerising large-scale installations was a powerful reminder of art’s capacity to move and provoke. Her early correspondence with Georgia O’Keeffe, also on display, served as an inspiring example of artistic perseverance.

For those yet to visit, this is an exhibition not to be missed. Whether drawn to the intricate details of her early works or the kaleidoscopic spectacle of her infinity rooms, Kusama’s art demands to be felt, not just seen. We encourage everyone to step inside her universe before the exhibition closes in April.

Joanna Wiltshire
Learning Leader: Arts