Joining the dots in The Obliteration Room by Yayoi Kusama at Auckland Art Gallery
- By: Auckland for Kids
- Published:
PAST EXHIBITION – NO LONGER SHOWING
Auckland for Kids went to check out the exhibition Yayoi Kusasma: The obliteration room at Auckland Art Gallery in The Creative Learning Centre at Auckland Art Gallery.
The obliteration room is a room painted completely white with the familar items you would find in a kiwi family home: sofas, dining table and chairs, kitchen, bookcases, piano and more. The room and objects act as a blank canvas to be ‘obliterated’ throughout the exhibition. You are each given a sheet of brightly coloured stickers in the shape of dots when you go into the obliteration room, which you can stick to anything in the room that you like.
The installation is by Yayoi Kusama a popular Japanese artist obsessed with polka dots, her paintings, sculptures and art almost always have polka dots in them. Kusama’s obliteration room is a simple concept that places as much emphasis on the colorful visual result as the interactive role of the audience.
The kids loved it and thought it was sticker heaven as they could put their stickers on whatever they wanted. Playing on the white spotty piano was fun too. The adults in the obliteration room enjoyed it as much as the children in the room did. This is definitely one exhibition that appeals to all ages: the kids and the kids at heart.
You can’t leave with any of the stickers, if the kids have stuck them to themselves. You will need to make sure you stick the dots somewhere in the obliteration room before you leave.
We are looking forward to going in the next few months to see how ‘obliterated’ the room has become with the vibrant coloured dots and to add some more dots of our own.
Yayoi Kusama: The obliteration room is on in the Todd Foundation Cetnre Learning Centre on the mezzanine level at Auckland Art Gallery until Monday 2 April 2018. Entry is FREE.
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