A dotty love affair

FOR the past decade, 1 female artist has constantly been on bank assistant manager Mark Siow's mind, mesmerising him with her dotted artworks.

The artist is none other than Yayoi Kusama, the 93-year-old Japanese contemporary artist known for her dotted artworks.

But Siow didn't know anything about her before his chance encounter with her Infinity Dots artwork, which was displayed as part of an exhibition at the Louis Vuitton boutique at Ion Orchard. He was drawn to the painting which has yellow dots of different sizes against a black background.

"This piece shows the sheer brilliance of her ability to bring you into her artwork," says Siow. "If you stare long at it, you find yourself engulfed by the dots."

He had never heard of Kusama before that and was surprised to learn that she "is this strange but very cool looking lady". Kusama is always pictured with her trademark red wig and dotty outfits.

"Despite her tough childhood, her art brings positivity and has so much vibrancy," says Siow. Intrigued by Infinity Dots, he began researching on her and in the past decade has spent time buying up her merchandise and visiting museums and art galleries to view her works, including numerous visits to the National Gallery Singapore for the Yayoi Kusama: Life is the Heart of a Rainbow exhibition 5 years ago.

In May 2017, Siow made his first trip to Japan, solely to view a Kusama exhibition at the National Art Center in Tokyo.

That same year in November, he visited Tokyo again, this time with the intention of visiting the Yayoi Kusama Museum. "But I only saw the museum from outside, as tickets were sold out," Siow recalls.

In 2018, he headed to Naoshima, and stayed at Benesse House, a museum and hotel. "There is private access from the hotel to the pier, where the famed Yellow Pumpkin sculpture is. I went there for sunrise, sunset and nightfall," says Siow, who like many visitors, was surprised that the sculpture is much smaller in reality.

His subsequent visits to Kusama's exhibitions include a trip to the Forever Museum of Contemporary Art in Kyoto and to the Matsumoto City Museum of Art , which has a permanent exhibition of Kusama's works, since she was born in that city. His last Kusama exhibition was during the Bangkok Art Biennale in 2019. "Then Covid-19 hit and I haven't been able to continue these museum visits," sighs Siow.

In his home in East Coast, he has a custom-made glass cupboard to display his collection of Kusama collectibles.

"The shelves are dedicated to Kusuma's items. I change the display only during Christmas and Chinese New Year," says Siow.

There are porcelain sculptures of dotted red and white, and yellow and black pumpkins, polka-dotted mugs, as well as items featuring Kusama's other key work, Infinity Nets. Tucked away in the drawers are furoshiki, or Japanese wrapping cloths, featuring Kusama's works.

Then there's also a limited edition set of prints and a book that were produced in collaboration with Louis Vuitton.

"Sadly, her paintings are out of my reach, so I'm collecting souvenirs and other merchandise," he says. Her paintings cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Of all the artworks, The Yellow Pumpkin is his favourite. "I'm drawn to the placement of the dots which have been meticulously arranged and are so mesmerising. And not many artists draw pumpkins either," says Siow. He hopes to meet Kusama in person one day, even though he knows his chances are very slim.

Siow already knows what he will say to her. "Kusama san, I may not be able to buy your paintings and sculptures, but my interest in your artworks has brought me to Japan. My travel itinerary would include trips to the museums and their gift shops to buy your exclusive merchandise. And that has made my holiday trips to Japan more memorable and meaningful."