If you have never ever visited the huge National Gallery which occupies the former Supreme Court and City Hall before, now is the time, even if art is not something you generally indulge in because it's "too cheem".

Because on Friday, June 9, the Gallery will be unveiling the works of Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama in an exhibition titled Yayoi Kusama: Life is the Heart of a Rainbow.

Considered as one of the greatest artists of the late 20th and early 21st century, Kusama's work is quite simply the epitome of bizarre, surreal and of course, Instagrammable.

From polka-dotted pumpkins to mirror reflections that stretch into infinity, this is an exhibition where we can personally attest to its mind-blowing intensity.

Her challenging childhood

This has probably to do with Kusama's art arising from her own difficult experiences and mental problems. She famously said before, “if it were not for art, I would have killed myself long ago”.

And in another instance, she made clear she does not want to cure her mental problems, instead deciding to "utilise them as a generating force for my art".

And boy, is her story worth telling, because it makes her work even more amazing —

Born in 1929 in Matsumoto, Nagano, Kusama's childhood was marked by a womanising father and a mother who violently disapproved of Kusama's interest in art. With her mother constantly destroying her artworks and forcing her to spy on her father's affairs, Kusama began to develop anxiety and hallucination issues but not once was her passion dampened.

At the first chance she got, Kusama went to Kyoto to study painting but eventually decided to head for New York in 1958 after finding the traditional Japanese style of Nihonga too limiting — a decision that led to her mother barring her from ever stepping foot into the house again.

Undaunted by the challenges of a foreign land and unafraid to play on the more exotic aspects of her foreignness to appeal to the American gaze, Kusama finally exploded onto the art world with her striking psychedelic polka-dot style — one that she says helps to "obliterate" her anxieties. It was no small feat in a field that was mostly Western male-dominated, and her fame quickly extended to her startling performance pieces in support of the anti-Vietnam War movement.

Return to Japan, and enduring suffering

Unfortunately, these things did not translate into financial security and she spent decades working in conditions of poverty — all of which eventually took a toll on her health, resulting in her eventual return to Japan in 1973.

Back home, her reputation was one of sensation and scandal. The local media mostly focused on her performance pieces, particularly those which involved nudity. After all, nothing quite gets a conservative society excited like an exposed body.

Eventually, she suffered a mental breakdown and in 1977, checked herself into a mental hospital — a place where she has since chosen to remain at for the past 40 years, serving as her home, with her studio just across the road.

Given that her career is now in its seventh decade and that there are more than 120 of her artworks on show here alone, perhaps the belief that suffering produces great art has something to it after all.

Naturally, with so many pieces to see, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the volume of her work.

Here are our picks of the most mesmerising works on display for you to look out for especially:

1. The Spirits of the Pumpkins Descended into the Heavens

Be sure to catch the viewing hole behind for this:

2. Infinity Mirrored Room-Gleaming Lights of the Souls

Music buffs will recognise this as the artwork that Adele used as a backdrop to the performance of her song "When We Were Young" — a piece she discovered on Katy Perry's Instagram account.

One more thing to note: you are only allowed 20 seconds in the room with one other person due to its popularity and fame as Kusama's most famous work. Given that this artwork invites the viewer to experience an obliteration of the self, it would be optimal if you can achieve this state in under half a minute.

3. I Want To Love on The Festival Night

4. My Eternal Soul

See those huge canvases on the wall? The artist has actually done as many as 500 of those, each one unique and different.

5. Imagery of Human-Beings

If you can't recognise what these is, you were not paying attention in science class back in secondary school.

6. Song of a Manhattan Suicide Addict

By far, the most hauntingly psychedelic piece because you actually get to hear Kusama herself sing while the background rapidly changes:

[video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://static.mothership.sg/1/2017/06/20170606_1711481.mp4"][/video]

Kusama's exhibition runs from June 9 to September 3, 2017. Do note that this while access to the National Gallery is free if you're a Singaporean or PR, you must still pay to enter this exhibition ($15 to be precise).

For more information and tickets to Yayoi Kusama's exhibition (and you should definitely go, you won't regret it), click here.

**Editor's note: This article previously reported that the time allowed in the Infinity Mirrored Room is 40 seconds. This is inaccurate and has been corrected.

Top photo courtesy of National Gallery Singapore

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