Japan’s ‘Princess of Dots’ Yayoi Kusama Illustrates Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’

Writes “Brain Pickings” blogger Maria Popova: “The illustrations that have accompanied Lewis Carroll’s classics over the ages have become iconic in their own right, from Leonard Weisgard’s stunning artwork for the first color edition of the book to Salvador Dali’s little-known but breathtaking version. Now, from Penguin UK and Yayoi Kusama, Japan’s most celebrated contemporary artist, comes a striking contender for the most visually captivating take on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland yet.”

Since childhood, Yayoi Kusama has been afflicted with a condition that makes her see spots, which means she sees the world in a surreal, almost hallucinogenic way that sits very well with the ‘Wonderland of Alice. She is fascinated by childhood and the way adults have the ability, at their most creative, to see things the way children do, a central concern of the Alice books. The classic book is colour illustrated with a clothbound jacket, and produced to very high specification. Kusama’s images are interspersed throughout the text. It is produced in collaboration with the Kusama Studio, Tokyo and Gagosian Gallery.

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