NUMBER FIFTY TWO.
March24
If you’re a Sydney-sider and haven’t as yet been to the MCA to see Olafur Eliasson’s exhibition Take Your Time, shame on you! But you still have time to redeem yourself, as the exhibition continues until April 11 and will only set you back fifteen dollars (or even less if you’re a student).
From the glowing yellow room Room For One Colour to 360 Degree Room For All Colours, a ten-metre circular enclosure bathing the viewer in every tone of the spectrum, Eliasson’s body of work explores the play between light and shadow, transparency and reflection. Individual works find inspiration in the distinctive landscape of Eliasson’s ancestral country, Iceland, and constantly invite us to become active agents in the interactive pieces, rather than passive observers.
NUMBER NINE.
May04
I finally made it along to the MCA’s current feature exhibition Yayoi Kusama: Mirrored Years; an immense collection of the much acclaimed Japanese artist’s work, spanning over four decades of her artistic practice.
A self described ‘obsessive artist’, Kusama’s work is consumed with the exploration of themes of the finite and infinite, the way that we view ourselves and our own psychological dialogue. Working across a variety of mediums, her work included in this exhibition ranges from sculpture, to large-scale paintings, to film and several of her immersive environmental installations; Infinity Mirror Room - Phalli’s Field (1965), the other-worldy Fireflies on the Water (2000) and Clouds (2008).
Kusama is an artist of great creative energy and her career has been nothing short of extraordinary, from her early years in New York, to re-establishing herself in Asia to her work in Europe, including her gate-crashing of the Venice Biennale and subsequent invitation to exhibit.
Curated by Jaap Guldemond (Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen), Franck Gautherot and Seungduk Kim (Le Consortium in Dijon, France), this is an exhibition that highlights the viewer with the interminable nature of our world, and of one’s own mortality.
Yayoi Kusama: Mirrored Years
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
Until June 8, 2009
Infinity Mirror Room Panorama
http://www.yayoi-kusama.jp/e/
