Feeling guiltily underwhelmed: Is Yayoi Kusama’s ‘Infinity Mirror Rooms’ worth the hype?
Let me take you back to October 2021. After waiting in an online queue for three days with already one failed ticket purchase attempt under my belt, I somehow managed to score tickets to Yayoi Kusama’s ‘Infinity Mirror Rooms’. Now I’ll bring you forward to the 17th of March, when the somewhat elusive exhibition was miraculously in front of us. And amid all the hype and excitement, I was left feeling guiltily underwhelmed.
For those who are unfamiliar with Kusama’s background, Kusama is a Japanese contemporary artist born 1929. Working in a variety of mediums from painting and sculpture to performance and installation, her work aims to create an experience. A lot of her pieces stem from her mental health problems - particularly the hallucinations she has suffered (Tate, 2021).
Upon entering the exhibition, we were greeted with a selection of photographs from throughout Kusama’s life, creating a timeline. The photos create a nice entry point to the exhibition, especially for those unfamiliar with Kusama’s work. They flow through the room and culminate with the quote:
“It would be futile and meaningless to focus on the shrinking time-frame before me, or to think of my limitations. I shall never stop striving to make works that will shine on after my death.”
If I took away anything from this show, it’s that the passion behind what you are making is above all most important, and you should strive for your work to live on beyond yourself.
‘The Universe as Seen from the Stairway to Heaven’ (2021) is the first piece of work which is presented to the audience. A mirrored sculpture sits on a plinth. As you look into the windows, you can see lots of multicoloured circles. The piece was created especially for this show, and it’s quite interesting as an object in itself. It felt like a nice build up to the show's main event - the Infinity Rooms.
If you are planning on seeing this show, it’s important to note that there is a bit of waiting around. Both of the mirror rooms involve a queueing system before entering, as the experience is held within an enclosed space with restricted viewing numbers. There are a few things to look at while you wait, such as ‘Walking Piece’ (1966), a performance provided in a slide-show format where Kusama walks around empty industrial streets in a pink kimono while carrying a parasol.
There are two different infinity rooms presented in this show, the first being ‘Chandelier of Grief’ (2016/2018). You are led into a small room filled with mirrors and a large chandelier suspended in the centre. It rotates whilst the lights flicker, meaning its movements are reflected in every surface.
The experience was pleasant, if not slightly long. The time in this room was 10 minutes, but after looking at the chandelier, the mirrors, and taking a few photos, I was left feeling - dare I say - a bit bored. Don’t get me wrong, the chandelier was beautifully ornate - but I felt like I didn’t know what to do with myself after a minute or two.
The second experience, ‘Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled with the Brilliance of Life’ (2011/2017), is the room which you have probably seen the most coverage on social media. You enter a room and walk across a reflective walkway surrounded by water and mirrors. As the lights around you pulse, you are experiencing a feeling which mirrors what Kusama experienced during her hallucinations.
After our 5 minutes of allotted time in the room - which went rather quickly for my liking - I felt slightly disappointed. There wasn’t enough time to ‘lose your bearings’ like the visitor assistant described to me before entering, and I was more preoccupied with avoiding falling into the water (but if I did slip and fall, that would have probably made the experience a bit more entertaining). I felt like I hadn’t seen anything special, and in fact, I distinctly remember turning to my friends to hear their thoughts too. Surely this wasn’t the same experience that we had been anticipating for five whole months?
The Infinity Mirror Rooms just didn’t excite me - or at least not as much as I’d hoped. I feel bad about saying that, and so does my bank balance. The photos you see on social media are quite different to what you see in person. The rooms are small and not as expansive and immersive as I believed they would be.
Whilst writing this, I was a bit worried that I was the only one feeling this way. There is so much hype and excitement around the show - Tate even extended the exhibition duration due to the show’s popularity and it’s currently being booked up until the end of September. However, I think this quote from Adrian Searle perfectly sums up my feelings:
“Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms just don’t do it for me. I appear to be immune to them. Maybe I’d appreciate them more if I visited with a small child, and could share in their easy wonderment, except I’d worry they might drown in one of those shallow pools. Maybe a drawn-out expectation of the moment, the booking, the waiting for the day and the minute, all that queuing, might help develop a sense of occasion.”
When I see an experience, I want to be able to feel like it couldn't be easily recreated. I want to feel like I’m in a one-of-a-kind moment, one which will really sticks with me. Take the ‘Olafur Eliasson: In Real Life’ exhibition which was also held at Tate. The 45-metre tunnel of dense fog titled ‘Your Blind Passenger’ (2010) is probably one of the most immersive pieces I have ever experienced. The slight panic as you first enter the space, the awakening of your other senses, the wonderment at how expansive it is. These are the kind of feelings I want to feel with Kusama’s work too.
So, what are my final thoughts? If you are able to see this exhibition, then you might as well. You probably won’t get a chance to see it again - and I do think it is something you should experience. If you don’t want to continuously look at your own reflection, then I probably wouldn’t recommend it. But if you do, at least you will get some nice photos for your Instagram feed.
References:
Searle, A., 2021. ‘My cheapo garden fairy lights do this too’ – Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirror Rooms. The Guardian, [online] Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/may/17/japanese-yayoi-kusama-infinity-mirror-rooms-review-tate-modern> [Accessed 20 March 2022].
Tate, 2021. Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirror Rooms.
