Whilst at Victoria Miro I also took the opportunity to see these huge pumpkins adorned with Yayoi Kusama's trademark dots. A really timely show this, it being autumn and harvest - the season of 'mists and mellow fruitfulness'. Unfortunately when I visited they were covered with packing to protect them from damage because of building work being carried out at the gallery, so it is hard to see the scale. I like the fallen autumn leaves around their base though.
These pictures below are from the gallery website and give an indication of scale and weight as they are bronze so must weigh a ton. Kusama writes of her pumpkin obsession:
"Pumpkin head' was an epithet used to disparage ugly, ignorant men, and the phrase 'Put eyes and nose on a pumpkin' evoked a pudgy and unattractive woman. It seems that pumpkins do not inspire much respect. But I was enchanted by their charming and winsome form. What appealed to me most was the pumpkin's generous unpretentiousness. That and its solid spiritual base"
They are lovely and playful and reminded me of my early Pumpkin Head limited edition linocut prints when I was also obsessed with gourds and pumpkins. I saw them as being like children and an essentially feminine motif, pregnant, full of promise and a metaphor for creativity and spirituality.
Yayoi Kusama I Bronze Pumpkins
until 19th December
Victoria Miro
16 Wharf Road
London N1
No comments:
Post a Comment