You Can Now Tour One of Yayoi Kusama's Glittering Infinity Rooms From Your Couch

Take a 14-and-a-half-minute peek inside one of the Japanese artist's famous creations, complete with an immersive soundtrack.
Sarah Ward
March 29, 2020

No matter where they pop up around the world, Yayoi Kusama's infinity rooms instantly attract hordes of eager visitors, as anyone who has lined up to peek inside can attest. At present, with galleries and public spaces closed across the globe, no one can explore the Japanese artist's dazzling mirrored spaces in person — but one American venue is providing virtual access.

That'd be The Broad in Los Angeles, which is currently home to Kusama's Infinity Mirrored Room — The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away. With the whole site closed due to COVID-19, the gallery has started an online video series called Infinite Drone that steps through the glittering, LED light-filled attraction. And, it's pairing each clip with a drone, electronic, ambient and pop music-filled soundscape.

Attempting to mimic the sensation of standing inside one of Kusama's infinity rooms in person — and, as the artist intends, soaking in her dazzling contemplation of eternity as it gleams all around you — the idea is to give art fans as an immersive experience as possible. Of course, when you're viewing the installation via virtual means, you don't have to queue — or worry about a time limit.

So far, one video has been released, with Los Angeles-based artist and composer Geneva Skeen on scoring duties. Available to watch via Facebook and Instagram, the first 14-and-a-half minute clip watches on as the infinity room's lights glow and fade over and over again — and as well as offering an escape from being glued to the news, it serves up quite the meditative experience.

Infinite Drone: 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗮 𝗦𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗻

Experience an immersive environment of light and sound in the spirit of Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirrored Room—The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away. Take an opportunity to delve into the spiritual aspects of Kusama's exploration of eternity—paired with aural selections chosen curated by The Broad, including drone, electronic, ambient, and pop music. Featuring deep cuts by celebrated musicians and sound artists from Los Angeles and beyond, the Infinite Drone series presents a new, contemplative way of experiencing The Broad’s most popular artwork.Today’s musical artist is:𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗮 𝗦𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗻The Oval Window (2018)Los Angeles-based artist and composer Geneva Skeen is influenced by écriture féminine, alchemical metaphors, and a range of musical traditions ranging from holy mysticism to industrial. She works with recordings, digital presets, voice, and mixed instrumentation. Her performances, publications, and installations focus on the contrast between facing the finite resources of our physical landscapes and their infinite digital representations. She is a recipient of the Touch Mentorship program and a member of VOLUME, a curatorial collective focused on sound-based practices. “The Oval Window” is a stereo drone work composed strictly using recordings of voice and piano processed through digital and analog technologies. The sloping harmonics and peripheral speech affects highlighted in the composition were scraped from the original raw recordings, then reshaped in relation to each other’s line, pitch, and duration.___Written & performed by Geneva SkeenPublished by Touch Music/Fairwood Music Ltdwww.genevaskeen.com

Posted by The Broad on Wednesday, 25 March 2020

To check out The Broad's virtual Infinity Mirrored Room — The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away tours, head to the gallery's Facebook and Instagram.

To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website.

Published on March 29, 2020 by Sarah Ward
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