About

Takako Matsumoto's intimate documentary observes the working process of Yayoi Kusama as she challenges herself to complete a suite of 50 monochrome canvas drawings, collectively titled 'Love Forever' 2004-07. The series is a fascinating example of Kusama's ability to move between abstraction and figuration, an ability the artist has used in her paintings, installations, videos, and sculptures since the late 1950s. Applying black marker to canvas, these works combine Kusama's signature motifs (polka dots, eye flashes, face profiles and botanical shapes) with an uninterrupted stream of improvisation. Kusama continues to explore ideas of minimalism, optical and pop art – a blend she describes as 'psychosomatic art' – and her work draws inspiration from her visions, hallucinations and dreams.

Filmed over an 18-month period, Near Equal Kusama Yayoi – I Adore Myself is Matsumoto's first feature film. An award-winning documentary filmmaker, Matsumoto met Kusama in 1996 and continues to film the artist, producing television programmes, films and exhibition videos. This close relationship is reflected in the documentary which follows Kusama's day-to-day activities; her time in the studio, casual conversations with guests, poetry readings, negotiations for a retrospective exhibition, cameo television appearances and being advised that she is a laureate of Japan's preeminent culture prize, the Praemium Imperiale, for her contribution to the field of painting.

A suit of 50 works from the 'Love Forever' series are included in the QAGOMA exhibition 'Yayoi Kusama: Life Is the Heart of a Rainbow'.

Ages 12+