Infinity Mirror Room — Phalli's Field
Mirrored room installation by Yayoi Kusama, first realised in 1965. A walk-in space in which hundreds of stuffed, polka-dotted fabric protrusions cover the floor and are reflected infinitely in floor-to-ceiling mirrors on all walls. The original work initiated Kusama's Infinity Room series — a format the artist has continued to develop, with over 20 authorised versions now in permanent and temporary collections worldwide. The 1965 original's materials are largely dispersed; the work exists today primarily as an authorised serial concept.
Scholarly Significance
Anchor the Japanese contemporary / feminist avant-garde cluster with Kusama's foundational Infinity Mirror Room — the originating concept of a globally reproduced institutional format.
Notes
- ·Phalli's Field was first exhibited at Castellane Gallery, New York, 1965.
- ·An authorised version (titled 'Dots Obsession — Love Transformed into Dots') is held by Tate Modern.
- ·The format of the walk-in mirrored room has been widely imitated; Kusama's authorship of the originating concept is broadly acknowledged.
- ·The work sits at the intersection of Happenings, performance, and installation — Kusama herself often performed nude within or adjacent to her installations in the 1960s.
- ·The question of authenticity and authorisation for the serial works raises ongoing issues for the field of contemporary art scholarship.