Yayoi Kusama: The Obliteration Room
This therapeutic, dot-filled favourite returns for another round of sticker fun, this time as part of GOMA's 'Wonderstruck' exhibition.
Overview
You step inside a room, painted white from floor to ceiling. All surfaces, fixtures, furniture and objects are white, and not just the usual things, either. Every single item that features — a fireplace trimmed with stockings, perhaps, or maybe a kitchen filled with utensils — are all white as well.
From there, it's up to you and your fellow visitors to add spots of colour to The Obliteration Room in sticker form. This interactive project stems from Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama's childhood perception, seeing the world through a screen of tiny dots. In her work that followed, she covered everything with dots in a process she calls "obliteration". That's what Kusama asks everyone to do here: obliterate the installation's pristine state. And yes, running around sticking spots on everything is as fun and therapeutic as it sounds.
Yayoi Kusama / Japan b.1929 / The Obliteration Room (installation view) 2002–present / Furniture, white paint, dot stickers / Dimensions variable / Collaboration between Yayoi Kusama and Queensland Art Gallery. Commissioned by the Queensland Art Gallery. Gift of the artist through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation 2012 / Collection: QAGOMA, Brisbane / © Yayoi Kusama / Photograph: N Harth © QAGOMA
Developed for the Queensland Art Gallery in 2002, The Obliteration Room has toured the world, but it keeps coming back to Brisbane, including for the Gallery of Modern Art's Wonderstruck exhibition across Saturday, June 28–Monday, October 6, 2025.
It may be a feature of GOMA's Children's Art Centre; however, witnessing and participating in the transformative process is a delight for big kids as well. You'll want to go back again and again during the just over three-month run, but don't forget to check out the rest of the free showcase as well.
Gallery of Modern Art. Exterior south and east face. James Turrell artwork.
Top image: Yayoi Kusama. The obliteration room 2002–present. Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art. © YAYOI KUSAMA
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