The Early Years and a Journey of Obsession Born on March 22, 1929, in Matsumoto, Japan, Yayoi Kusama’s artistic journey began not with formal training but with a deeply personal and often unsettling experience: hallucinations. From childhood, she reported seeing repeating patterns – dots, nets, and seemingly endless fields – that profoundly shaped her perception of the world and would become the defining motifs of her entire oeuvre. These early visions weren't merely visual; they were accompanied by intense anxiety and a sense of being trapped within these repetitive patterns, experiences th…