Feeling the glow: Washington Square Park artist wows audience with surreal fluorescent paint show

On any given day in Washington Square Park, Kanami Kusajima’s fascinating improvisational dance performance — creating an abstract artwork while dancing with black sumi ink on her feet — is a visual feast for a photographer.

But cover her with fluorescent paint and put her behind a transparent plastic curtain under a black light with paint to do with as she pleases and you have an abstract photographer’s dream.

Kusajima was the featured performer on the opening night of the Brooklyn Art Cave’s 3rd annual “Gallery After Dark” exhibition, which curator Alex Z. called “a vibrant showcase of glow-in-the-dark art and innovative installations.”

Feeling the glow: Washington Square Park artist wows audience with surreal fluorescent paint show 13 — Photo by Bob Krasner

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Z. noted that “Kusajima’s breathtaking dance routine interacted with the black-light environment, creating a dynamic and unforgettable spectacle. Her painting, a culmination of the crowd’s energy, the surrounding artwork and the music, served as a powerful testament to the collaborative spirit of the event.”

Kusajima has performed in this way several times before, notably as part of an “Art Bath” salon performance in May 2023 where she first utilized the plastic curtain as per the suggestion of AB producer Liz Yilmaz.

“I loved that idea because it adds the sense of three-dimensionality,” says Kusajima. “It also prevents paints [from being] splashed on the audience!” (This was definitely appreciated by the audience).

Feeling the glow: Washington Square Park artist wows audience with surreal fluorescent paint show 18 — Photo by Bob Krasner

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Kusajima explains that she calls this performance “Lumi’s Space,” although that’s not an official title.

“When I thought about the sparkly, illuminating effect of the paint,” she muses, “it reminded me of the universe where galaxies and stars are shining — they are all alive and shifting in the space from one place to another, or sometimes exploding with full of energy. It contains all kinds of birth and death. This unlimited, magical space exists both in the outside world and inside of ourselves. Also, I thought about the popular Japanese female name Lumi (sometimes spelled Rumi) which I associated with the English word illumination.”

“So,” she continues, “basically, the performance is about a human — or a woman — exploring her own, private cosmic space. She observes it, feels it, and discovers something new, or re-discovers something she was forgetting for a long time. So to me, each performance truly feels like a whole journey in the cosmic space and I hope that the audience would also find something meditative and magical about it.”

Mission accomplished, we think.

Follow Kunami Kusajima at @lethairdown on Instagram