Japan, Yayoi Kusama's giant gourd on Naoshima pier damaged by typhoon

Since 1994, at the end of a pier on Naoshima Island, the art island in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, stood a giant pumpkin with black and yellow polka dots: it was a work, which became famous and much photographed, by Yayoi Kusama.

The sculpture was swept away from the pier, ending up floating in the waves of the sea due to a violent typhoon that hit Japan on the night of Sunday, August 8 to Monday, August 9.

The Benesse Art Site, owner of the artwork, recovered the huge gourd and experts are trying to figure out whether it can be reconstructed, as it was damaged as it slammed into the pier in the water. “Some smaller pieces were lost at sea, but we have preserved three large main pieces,” said a company spokesman. “Meanwhile, we are working with Kusama’s firm to assess what to do next.” Whether to repair it and reinstall it in its original location; rebuilding the structure of the giant gourd would require the help of the artist, who is more than 90 years old, and would be quite complicated.

Japan, Yayoi Kusama's giant gourd on Naoshima pier damaged by typhoon

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