Yayoi Kusama has responded to the global coronavirus crisis with a message of hope & defiance

World renowned artist Yayoi Kusama has boldly expressed herself in a poetic letter of hope that encourages everyone to ‘fight this terrible monster”. The 91-year old Japanese artist, most popularly known for her polka-dot pumpkin and phallic-shaped installations, has reached out to the world through poetry, directly addressing COVID-19 and the world that it’s tearing apart.

Kusama opens the letter with an introduction, “Today, with the world facing COVID-19, I feel the necessity to address it with this message.” The popular artist describes a “burst of light” which “points to the future”, pushing the message that “now is the time for people all over the world to stand up”.

As an artist, Kusama has to be one of the most unique and committed beings on the planet today, owing much of her charisma and output to psychological trauma and mental health issue — she checked herself into a Japanese psychiatric institution in 1977, and has been manifesting her artistic escapades from there since. In recent years, she took on tours around the world, from Mexico City to Seoul and Taiwan, and even had a 5-storey museum dedicated to her work open in Tokyo in 2017.

Although her upcoming exhibition in May at Tate Modern, set to be her largest installation to date, is likely to be postponed, her previous and highly popular ‘Infinity Mirrored Room’ is now accessible online, which you can preview below.

Though it glistens just out of reach, I continue to pray for hope to shine through

Its glimmer lighting our way

This long awaited great cosmic glow

Now that we find ourselves on the dark side of the world

The gods will be there to strengthen the hope we have spread throughout the universe

For those left behind, each person's story and that of their loved ones

It is time to seek a hymn of love for our souls

In the midst of this historic menace, a brief burst of light points to the future

Let us joyfully sing this song of a splendid future

Let's go

Embraced in deep love and the efforts of people all over the world

Now is the time to overcome, to bring peace

We gathered for love and I hope to fulfil that desire

The time has come to fight and overcome our unhappiness

To COVID-19 that stands in our way

I say Disappear from this earth

We shall fight

We shall fight this terrible monster

Now is the time for people all over the world to stand up

My deep gratitude goes to all those who are already fighting.

Revolutionist of the world by the Art

From Yayoi Kusama