India, Aug. 27 -- A single dot can mean something much larger than itself. And for Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama, the humble polka dot became a symbol of infinity, connection and humanity's place in the universe.

She famously said that Earth is "only one polka dot among a million stars," and in doing so, she captured the philosophy behind decades of her artistic practice. Kusama metamorphosed repeated patterns and organic forms into meditations on the relationship between humans, nature and the cosmos.

The Polka dots' repeating nature creates a visual sense of no beginning and no end. Kusama, as a child, experienced hallucinations where flowers and surroundings seemed to repeat infinitely. She described that these hallucinat...