The grounds of the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) have been transformed with an expansive outdoor exhibition, My Soul Blooms Forever, showcasing the iconic artworks of celebrated Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. The exhibition, which includes several large-scale artworks that have never been shown in the region, explores the artist's fascination with the natural world through epic sculptural installations of colourful, fantastically scaled plants and iconic polka-dotted pumpkins sculptures.

My Soul Blooms Forever, on view at MIA Park until 1 March 2023, marks the 10-year anniversary of Qatar’s Years of Culture programme and is a legacy of the Qatar-Japan Year of Culture celebrated in 2012. The artworks have been installed as part of Qatar Creates, the year-round national cultural movement that curates, promotes, and celebrates the diversity of cultural activities in Qatar, during which Qatar Museums has installed more than 40 additional public artworks by celebrated Qatari, regional, and international artists throughout Doha and the nation. The exhibition is presented with the exclusive sponsorship support of Louis Vuitton.

“The grounds of the Museum of Islamic Art have become a favourite outdoor gathering place in Doha, marked by an array of public artworks that range from playful to iconic. With these new installations by Yayoi Kusama — one of the world’s most visionary artists — MIA Park has been magically transformed for the people we are welcoming from around the world for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022,” said Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums.

Highlights include:

• My Soul Blooms Forever (2019), comprising five whimsical flowers that measure between six and nine feet high (183 centimetres to 274 centimetres) that are brightly coloured and features the artist’s distinctive bold palette.
• Dancing Pumpkin (2020) represents a new format for the artist with bronze tufts spread more than 16 feet (490 centimetres) from the center, giving the impression of being in motion; this work has not yet been seen in the region
• Narcissus Garden, the artist's earliest outdoor installation, which was first presented in 1966 on the lawn outside the Italian Pavilion at the 33rd Venice Biennale, comprising 1,300 stainless-steel spheres installed within the fountain at the entrance to the Museum of Islamic Art
• I Want to Fly to the Universe (2020), reminiscent of the artist’s 2019 Love Flies Up to the Sky balloon created for the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and derives from motifs elaborated in the artist’s My Eternal Soul paintings; this work has not yet been seen in the region
• Infinity Mirrored Room – Dancing Lights that Flew Up to the Universe (2019) an enclosed, mirror-paneled room with hundreds of LED lights suspended at varying heights from the ceiling that continuously flicker on and off, on view at QM Gallery Al Riwaq
• Ascension of Polka Dots on the Trees (2002/2022) installed in MIA Park, lined by dozens of date palms planted on each side of the path that runs along Doha’s Corniche

Source and cover image credit: Press Release

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Vrinda Abilash

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