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Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama's famous yellow pumpkin sculpture was reinstalled on Oct. 4 on Naoshima Island after it was swept into the sea and severely damaged during a typhoon last summer.
Local residents, students and officials gathered to celebrate the art island's signature sculpture as it was placed back on the pier of Naoshima Island, which is located in the Seto Inland Sea. It had been there since 1994.
“Since (the pumpkin) was a symbol of Naoshima, it's great to see the same piece of art installed again in the same place. “We are happy to share the joy with the residents of Naoshima,” Yukari Stenlund, spokesperson for Benesse Holdings, the company that manages the sculpture and the rest of the island's artistic offering, told CNN Travel.
The sculpture, two meters high, 2.5 meters wide and made of fiberglass reinforced plastic, was swept into the sea and broken into three pieces in August 2021.
According to Stenlund, Kusama's production team opted to create a new yellow pumpkin sculpture, staying true to the original, after assessing the extent of the damage.
The artist's production team began working on a new pumpkin earlier this spring and made the sculpture's outer layer 10% thicker than the original so that it could withstand strong waves and winds in the future. Additionally, a hook was embedded in its stem so it can be easily dragged to safety if another typhoon hits.
“We hope to display the pumpkin as a symbol of the connection between Naoshima and the world,” Stenlund added, saying that message underpinned the 1994 “Out of Bounds” exhibition, in which the sculpture was first installed on the island.
Naoshima: Japan's 'art island'
Naoshima is a quiet town of 3,200 inhabitants located on the Setouchi Sea, north of Shikoku. With three museums of modern and contemporary art, it is known as an “art island.” The yellow pumpkin, which contrasts with the blue sea, has long been a popular Instagram photo site.
The main way to access the island is a 20-minute ferry ride from the city of Okayama, which is a 50-minute bullet train ride from Osaka.
Pumpkin timing couldn't be better. Japan opens its borders to leisure tourists on October 11 and the Setouchi art festival will run until November 2022.
