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After being swept into the sea during a typhoon last summer and badly damaged, Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s famous yellow pumpkin sculpture has been reinstalled on Naoshima Island on October 4th.
The reinstallation of the sculpture was celebrated by local residents, students, and officials on Naoshima Island, where it had been located since 1994. Naoshima Island is situated in the Seto Inland Sea.
Yukari Stenlund, a spokeswoman from Benesse Holdings, the company in charge of managing the sculpture and the rest of the island’s art offerings, expressed her joy and said, “Since (the pumpkin) was a symbol of Naoshima, it is great to see the same artwork installed again at the same spot. We are happy to share the joy with residents in Naoshima,” in an interview with CNN Travel.
The yellow pumpkin sculpture, measuring two meters tall and 2.5 meters wide, was swept into the sea and broken into three pieces in August 2021.
Kusama’s production team decided to create a new yellow pumpkin sculpture, while staying true to the original design, after assessing the extent of the damage.
To ensure the pumpkin sculpture can withstand strong waves and wind in the future, Kusama’s production team made the outer shell of the new sculpture 10% thicker than the original. They also embedded a hook into its stem, making it easier to drag to safety in case of another typhoon.
Stenlund stated, “We hope to exhibit the pumpkin as a symbol of the connection between Naoshima and the world.” This message was the underlying theme of the 1994 “Out of Bounds” exhibition, which marked the initial installation of the sculpture on the island.
Naoshima: Japan’s ‘art island’
Naoshima Island is a quiet place with a population of 3,200. It is located in the Setouchi Sea, north of Shikoku. With its three modern and contemporary art museums, the island is known as an “art island.” The yellow pumpkin sculpture has long been a popular site for Instagram photos, contrasting with the blue sea.
The main way to access Naoshima Island is via a 20-minute ferry ride from Okayama city, which is 50 minutes away by bullet train from Osaka.
The timing of the reinstallation of the pumpkin sculpture is perfect, as Japan is set to open its borders to leisure tourists on October 11, and the Setouchi Art festival will run until November 2022.
