Yayoi Kusama is one of the most important post-war and contemporary artists, with exhibitions all over the world. Her work is not only of historical importance, but it also appeals to a young and broad audience and defies art concepts such as Minimal and Pop Art.

Since 2005, the 0-institute has been collecting archive material with a team of art historians and conducting interviews with eyewitnesses, including artists, friends, and organizers. The recent discoveries of photos from forgotten archives led us to develop a publication with an accompanying photo exhibition. 

The exhibition and publication will provide an overview of Kusama's earliest performative activities, staged especially for the camera, with previously unpublished photos. Naked and painted with dots, dressed in her self-designed fashion, in the streets and the sex shop, or just in nature.

The publication will also include a written account by eyewitnesses Harrie Verstappen, offering a detailed insight into the colorful and erotic world of Kusama.  Thre publication will appear March 2020. The exhibition will consist of around sixty photos from Harrie Verstappen, and others, and is available for museum and cultural institutes, from September 2020 onwards.

All photos copyright Harrie Verstappen