Instagrammable art piece by Kusama damaged at NC art museum. Here’s what we know

Anna Johnson
·1 min read
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The popular “Light of Life” installation at the North Carolina Museum of Art was damaged earlier this year and will remain off exhibit the rest of 2023.

The piece was the star of the museum’s “You Are Here: Light, Color, and Sound Experiences” exhibit in 2018, with people lining up for up to an hour to experience it. The exhibit drew more than 100,000 visitors to the museum in Raleigh during its 15-week run, according to the museum, with photos of the Instagram-friendly pieces filling up social media feeds the entire time.

“Light of Life,” one of a handful of permanent “infinity rooms” on display in the world, is by Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama, who has been called the “most Instagrammed artist in the world.”

The hexagonal box, covered in 7-foot-tall mirror panels, has three holes for people to poke their heads into to see a two-minute loop of mirrored colors and patterns.

One of the mirror panels was damaged April 30 when a worker accidentally hit it with a floor scrubber while cleaning, said Schorr Johnson, communications director for the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

The repairs are estimated to cost nearly $12,000, including for shipping crates and costs and the creation of a replacement mirrored glass panel, according to Michele Walker, public information officer for the department.

Damage to artwork at the museum is rare, she said, averaging one incident or less a year.

The piece should be repaired and back on display in January.

North Carolina Museum of Art acquired Yayoi Kusama’s “Light of Life” in 2018. From the outside, the piece looks like a mirrored hexagonal box but stick your head inside one of its three portholes, and you’ll see yourself transported into an enclosed “infinity room” of changing colors and patterns. It now is in the museum’s West Gallery.
North Carolina Museum of Art acquired Yayoi Kusama’s “Light of Life” in 2018. From the outside, the piece looks like a mirrored hexagonal box but stick your head inside one of its three portholes, and you’ll see yourself transported into an enclosed “infinity room” of changing colors and patterns. It now is in the museum’s West Gallery.