Year: 1996
Medium: screenprint with color (raisonné No.229)
Dimensions: image: 29.8 x 22.8 cm (11 3/4 x 9 in.) sheet: 40.0 x 32.5 cm (15 3/4 x 12 3/4 in.)
Edition: #6 of 120
Acquired from SBI Art Auction, 2022
Yayoi Kusama’s dotted pumpkins constitute her most popular series. To her, pumpkins are a metaphor for humanity, and could also be described as a form of self-portrait. Kusama, who has suffered from auditory and visual hallucinations since childhood, continues to obsessively paint dots and nets. There is an overlap between her isolation and pumpkins, given that they tend to express their individuality, with no two looking the same. This is why Kusama’s pumpkins are all the more endearing for being severely distorted.
