Ivana Wong:
At first, dots are what I see. Slowly I notice every one of them is unique, as if they were living organisms, extending infinitely, weaving into nets, ripening like pumpkins. I am in awe, and curious, as to how you can see layers and layers of transformation, and see infinity when you simply add dots onto a flat surface...
Yayoi Kusama’s work is closely connected with her life. When I first encountered her art, I was profoundly moved. The force of life and poetic quality I saw in her work drove me to know more. Visiting her exhibitions and appreciating her art became a form of learning for my own artistic creation. On my travels I sought out opportunities to view her work.
In recent years I have begun to focus more on my own artistic creation. I am exploring, investigating, and putting into practice ideas for my music and visual work. One of my recent projects is an album related to art. It is also my wish to pay homage to visual artists through musical creation and share with others the artists whom I like and admire.
The first song on the album that pays homage to an artist is ‘Queen of Polka Dot’. When the idea for the song came to me, I was standing at a crosswalk in Japan. Neon lights around me flickered, stimulating my sight. Constantly shifting blocks of colour filled my mind. I thought about Yayoi Kusama, with her long flowing hair, when she was in New York; Kusama who unleashed polka dots from rivers; Kusama who placed huge silver spheres in a garden; Kusama standing in an Infinity Mirror Room; Kusama writing novels and reading her poetry; Kusama surrounded by her work, yearning to be seen; the renowned Yayoi Kusama who kept on creating every single day. Instantly, I felt energised and filled with power. The flickering scene in my mind became the direction for the melody and arrangement for the song.
Kusama’s story also inspired me to simply keep creating, and to be authentic in my expression. Perhaps my work will have the chance to be shared with more people and become someone else’s inspiration— a light in someone’s life. Now, as I appreciate Yayoi Kusama’s work, what I see is more than dots, more than pumpkins, more than the birds and flowers on the collage works. I also see the power bursting from within the artist, and the sense of infinite in her delicate cosmic view.
This is Ivana. I am an artist.
