Before the infinity nets, there was ‘The Pacific Ocean’ – what origin stories focusing on Yayoi Kusama’s mental illness miss about her art

Retrospectives on Yayoi Kusama often point to mental illness as the source of her inspiration. But before she made it big, she was a young girl inspired by traveling the world for the first time.

By: Audrey Storm, University of Southern California, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: September 1, 2026

Words: 811

Last Updated: 10 hours, 7 minutes ago

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By Audrey Storm, University of Southern California

Stories of Yayoi Kusama’s life often begin after she moved to New York City from Japan in 1958 and found near-overnight success with her abstract infinity net paintings. These evolved into the infinity rooms and polka-dotted pumpkins that became social media phenomena decades later and the focus of her legacy after her death on Aug. 14, 2026.

Yet, this timeline misses a crucial first …

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