{ Inspired By }

I recently came across an 'Alice in Wonderland' book illustrated by Yayoi Kusama. I love her drawings and sculptures, they seem to lure me in, just like her octopus tentacles. I saw the large scale building wrap two years ago in New York and it certainly had the impact she intended. 

Involved in the New York avant-guarde scene in the '50s and '60s, influencing the likes of Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg, Kusama eventually returned back to Japan and voluntarily admitted herself to a psychiatric hospital where she has spent the rest of her life.

Now an 85 year old, she has finally been acknowledged as one of the most important living artists from Japan. I admire an older woman who has relentlessly been true to herself and has forged the way for others. 

BY HOLLY CLARKE