A new site-specific dance performance beneath Yayoi Kusama's Dots Obsession installation will transform NGV's Great Hall this February.
Commissioned for Asia TOPA and NGV’s landmark Kusama exhibition, Pulau explores themes of metamorphosis and endurance through the lens of island mythology.
Choreographer Melanie Lane draws parallel threads between Kusama’s fascination with bodily obliteration and her own artistic practice in this after-hours performance.
Pulau dates:
- 22 February 2025 – 6.30pm and 9pm, Great Hall NGV International
- 23 February 2025 – 6.30pm and 9pm, Great Hall NGV International
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The 35-minute work features four performers on a darkened island stage, their glowing eyes piercing the darkness as they transform into mythic figures embodying resistance, pleasure and protection.
Lane’s interpretation considers the island as a complex symbol – simultaneously representing home, paradise, escape and vulnerability. The work creates tension between earthbound resistance and Kusama’s floating, ethereal installation above.
Audiences will experience the NGV’s collection after hours, encountering Kusama’s Dancing Pumpkin and Narcissus Garden in the foyer spaces before entering the Great Hall for the performance.
The work represents a significant collaboration between NGV and Asia TOPA, marking a unique intersection of visual art and contemporary dance in one of Melbourne’s most distinctive spaces.
While exhibition entry isn’t included in the ticket price, the performance offers a rare opportunity to experience Kusama’s work in a new context through Lane’s choreographic response.
Tickets on sale now.
