Yayoi Kusama // Fear of Death, 2008

  • Yayoi Kusama, Fear of Death, 2008. Large square acrylic painting, 194.3 × 194.3 cm, from the My Eternal Soul series, with bold colours and symbolic imagery reflecting themes of mortality
    Fear of Death, 2008
    Acrylic on canvas, 194.3 × 194.3 cm (76 1/2 × 76 1/2 in.)
    © Yayoi Kusama. Image reproduced for educational and informational purposes only. 
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    Yayoi Kusama’s Fear of Death (2008) is a large-scale acrylic on canvas, measuring 194.3 × 194.3 cm, and belongs to her celebrated My Eternal Soul series. The work radiates with vivid colours and dynamic biomorphic forms, its surface alive with Kusama’s obsessive detailing. At once playful and unsettling, the composition reflects her persistent confrontation with mortality, a theme that recurs throughout her later practice.
     
    The title points directly to the psychological tension at the heart of the painting, yet Kusama counterbalances this with explosive energy and dazzling colour. By transforming fear into visual splendour, the work embodies her conviction that creativity can be both a form of resistance and a means of survival.

  • “Without obsession, life is nothing.”

     — Yayoi Kusama

    Yayoi Kusama’s Fear of Death (2008) is a monumental acrylic on canvas from her My Eternal Soul series, measuring 194.3 × 194.3 cm. Executed with bold colours and surreal biomorphic shapes, the painting reflects her ongoing confrontation with mortality and the inner struggles that fuel her creativity. Its title underscores the personal intensity behind the work, while its dazzling surface transforms existential anxiety into an image of extraordinary vitality.