Japan's 'polka dot queen' artist Yayoi Kusama dies aged 97

The "polka dot queen", who passed away on August 14, channelled hallucinations and trauma into vibrant art featuring her trademark dots, nets and infinity motifs over a career spanning decades."Throughout an extraordinary lifetime devoted entirely to artistic creation, Kusama pursued an internationally acclaimed career as a pioneering avant-garde artist whose creative practice encompassed visual art, performance, fiction, and poetry," a statement said, confirming her death."She continued to paint until her final days, never setting aside her brush, and continued exploration of forever love and eternal soul," it added.Born in 1929, the youngest daughter of a wealthy family began producing her signature art aged 10."One day, after seeing a tablecloth with a red flower pattern on a desk, I saw the same red flower pattern all over the ceiling, windows and pillars. It filled the room, and covered my body," she wrote in her autobiography.Instantly recognisable in her bright red wig and bold spotted outfits, her exuberant work was the expression of a long battle with mental illness.After studying art in Japan, Kusama moved to the United States in the late 1950s and rose to prominence in N...