Yayoi Kusama (b. 1929), Accumulation, c. 1963. Sewn and stuffed fabric, wood chair frame, paint.

Kusama called this sculpture Accumulation- referring to the proliferation of soft, pillowy phallic forms that cover the underlying chair. There's something surreal about seeing an ordinary piece of furniture treated this way. And of course the whole psychic resonance of the phallus changes when there ae hundreds upon hundreds of them: the form becomes absurd.

In her autobiography- which was first published in Japan in 2002- Kusama wrote that the sculptures helped her work through her feelings of trauma.

"People often assume that I must be mad about sex, because I make so many such objects, but that's a complete misunderstanding. It's quite the opposite- I make the objects because they horrify me. I began making penises in order to heal my feelings of disgust towards sex. Reproducing the objects, again and again, was my way of conquering the fear. It was a kind of self-therapy to which I gave the name 'Psychosomatic art'... I make a pile of soft sculpture penises and lie down among them. That turns the fightening thing into something funny, something amusing. I'm able to revel in my illness in the dazzling light of day. By now, the number of penises I have made easily reaches into the hundreds of thousands".

This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.