Celebrated Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama has never limited her idiosyncratic, dot-filled visions to the traditional confines of the artist’s work surface, often claiming entire rooms and their contents as her canvas.
Who? Celebrated Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama has never limited her idiosyncratic, dot-filled visions to the traditional confines of the artist’s work surface, often claiming entire rooms and their contents as her canvas. Now, in collaboration with Louis Vuitton, with a view to celebrating and promoting their recently released Kusama capsule collection, London’s iconic department store Selfridges is the latest space to undergo a Kusama transformation.
What? The takeover extends to the store’s 24 windows, which feature hundreds of polka dots (even the mannequins are distinctly dotty) and an array of Japanese characters as a backdrop to a number of key items from the collection. But this is a mere taster for the visual explosion awaiting shoppers inside, where Kusama has turned Selfridges’ project space, the Concept Store, into a pop-up shop reminiscent of a scene from Alice’s Wonderland. Here, Kusama’s signature giant pumpkin formations reign supreme, from the shop’s grooved shell (which suggests you are inside one) to the display tables and huge, hole-punched lampshades. Red polka dots punctuate the otherwise white space, across the floor and tables, in patterns which similarly evoke pumpkin grooves. The setting perfectly complements the vibrantly coloured, repetitively patterned Kusama/Vuitton products – ranging from handbags and shoes to ready-to-wear – which are showcased among it for buyers' delectation.
"Kusama has turned Selfridges’ project space, the Concept Store, into a pop-up shop reminiscent of a scene from Alice’s Wonderland."
Why? This year has been a hugely significant one for Kusama, not only because of the Louis Vuitton collaboration but also in light of the important retrospective of her work which has recently moved from the Tate Modern to the Whitney Museum in New York. Sixty years after finding fame with her much-applauded Infinity Nets, the 84-year-old visionary has proved herself as prolific and popular as ever.
The Kusama concept store is open at Selfridges until October 19.
Text by Daisy Woodward
