Description:

'Lots of dots' is a sensory-rich board book designed as part of the NGV’s 2024 summer exhibition celebrating contemporary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Created for young readers, it offers an engaging and age-appropriate entry point into Kusama’s distinctive visual world – most notably her iconic polka dots – distilled into a format that is both playful and conceptually faithful.

The book acts as a bridge between the gallery experience and the hands-on curiosity of early childhood. With minimal text, it uses evolving arrangements of dots to hold attention and guide engagement. A range of material techniques – including felt flocking, spot UV, silver foil and die-cuts – invite tactile exploration and visual intrigue. These choices aren’t merely decorative; they shape pace, evoke mood and create moments of surprise and delight across each spread.

The book’s sculptural form, inspired by Kusama’s famous pumpkin sculptures, reinforces its connection to the exhibition. Its rounded shape and stem transform the object into something between toy and text, an intuitive fit for early learners, for whom play is a primary mode of discovery.

'Lots of dots' is an original and useful tool to introduce pattern, abstraction and contemporary art in the early years. It connects design, education and culture in a way that is playful and accessible. It not only introduces young readers to the ideas of contemporary art, but also to the idea that design itself is a language they can learn, explore and enjoy.