Manchester International Festival 2023: ‘Yayoi Kusama: You, Me and the Balloons’, a vibrant inflatable playground
How do you create a vibrant, immersive art installation that feels intimate in the age of social media and obtrusive phone cameras? The truth is, it’s very difficult unless, of course, you take the decision to remove devices entirely, which is something Manchester International Festival (MIF) has done in the past, during DYSTOPIA987, Skepta’s immersive performance of the future back in 2019.
The lack of opportunistic social media obsessives might have improved the enjoyment experienced at Yayoi Kusama’s You, Me and the Balloons, but to say that such ruined one’s enjoyment of the experience would be a pretty cynical analysis. The sprightly centrepiece to this year’s MIF, an event that highlights global artists and musicians biennially, the new installation well represents the unrestrained creative freedom offered by the unique celebration of innovative visionaries.
The very first work to be showcased in the new MIF venue, the Aviva Studios, located just a mere stone’s throw from the city centre, You, Me and the Balloons from the eccentric Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama is an inflatable playground of unfettered creativity. A collection of some of her most significant works over the last 30 years, the space is a transportive gateway into the mind of a truly unique storyteller.
Including giant dolls, polka-dot stalagmites and comfy inflated clouds that provide a meditative, playful space depending on your mindset, the exhibition is a marvel to behold, pushing you headfirst into the small rooms and vast caverns of Kusama’s cranium.
Having experienced visual and auditory hallucinations from a young age, the dazzling polka-dot creations became the product of her unique perception. An iconic avant-garde artist, You, Me and the Balloons is a strong statement of her identity, bringing together a number of her most celebrated pieces in a well-utilised space, made grander by a mighty mirrored wall that bounces dots from one side of the room to the other.
Speaking about the new exhibition, Kusama stated: “It would be interesting if people would experience the show as a wonderland. The experience of the scale is what’s important. Inflatable works expanded my creative means in terms of scale that could not have been achieved by stuffed soft sculptures and the freedom of placing them up in the air.”
Continuing, she adds, “For me, the world is genuinely full of surprises. It is not that I want to inspire a childlike awe or wonder, but to inspire through my genuine perception of the world.”
Thanks to playfully-created crawl spaces and crafty portholes that offer insight into the mind of Kusama, this sense of awe is certainly achieved by You, Me and the Balloons, but you can’t help but be somewhat disappointed once you’re led from the intimate opening room, a new iteration of Hope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity will Eternally Cover the Universe that offers a stunning introduction.
The small space offers swirling biomorphic balloons that twist like veins, with the wallpaper of the confined area matching the design of the inflatables themselves, creating a disorientating illusion that’s a thrill to explore. Stairs then lead you to the main exhibition floor, but upon ascending, the dark factory aesthetic didn’t quite match the thrill of the supposed prelude.
Indeed, if the rest of the playground had been gifted the same care and attention, You, Me and the Balloons would have been less of an Instagram hot-spot and more of a social media frenzy.
