Narcissus Garden | Yayoi Kusama

Currently resting in Crystal Pond near the South Lawn of Crystal Bridges, Yayoi Kusama’s Narcissus Garden reimagines the story of Narcissus. In Greek mythology, the self-obsessed hunter Narcissus is lured to a pond where, upon gazing at his own reflection in the water, he falls and drowns. Comprising nearly 900 mirrored spheres, Narcissus Garden encourages us to look past our own unique reflection to see those of other people and the natural surroundings, becoming part of one greater sphere – that of an interconnected universe.

Over the years, we have celebrated this interconnected universe through a variety of Kusama’s installations. Narcissus Garden, in the collection of OZ Art NWA, has graced both the campuses of Crystal Bridges and the Momentary in site-responsive configurations. Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room–My Heart Is Dancing into the Universe, a mainstay in the galleries at Crystal Bridges (currently at rest until 2026), has mesmerized guests with endless technicolor paper lanterns among glass mirrors, creating the illusion that polka dots stretch on forever. Currently, visitors are invited to commemorate spring through the larger-than-life Yayoi Kusama Flowers on view on Orchard Trail at Crystal Bridges.

For the month of April from 8 to 11 p.m. nightly, the Momentary invites Bentonville and beyond to reflect on Kusama’s work, Narcissus Garden. A video documenting the sculpture will be projected on the Tower and features footage from two full days of filming Yayoi Kusama’s Narcissus Garden in Crystal Pond with four cameras during the Fall Equinox and the Winter Solstice of 2021. Each day, cameras captured real-time footage and shot thousands of still photos, which were then stitched together to form time-lapse sequences to create the documentary film. The associated sound stems from an underwater recording from the Pond with a hydrophone.

Born from a curiosity of Yayoi Kusama’s Narcissus Garden and the spheres’ gradual movements, Bentonville-based filmmaker Brady Wedman documented the work, reflecting on the evolution of time and its ripples and the impact of changing environments.

Free, no tickets required.