Kusama has been fascinated with ideas of endlessness in space and vision throughout her career . Her work , executed across a range of media , is characterized by its investigation of pattern , repetition and accumulation . From childhood Kusama suffered from anxiety and hallucinatory episodes , often in the form of nets or spots multiplying to dominate her field of vision . Forms from these hallucinations became the basis of her visual vocabulary . Early in her career , she began covering different surfaces – including walls , floors , canvases , objects , animals and people – with polka dots , which became a trademark of her work . Her large-scale environments , such as Infinity Mirrored Room , combine this hallucinatory motif with an ongoing concern with perspective , space and optical experience . The work exemplifies Kusama ’ s examination of repetition and infinity , while the interactive character of the room is typical of the way in which her practice engages the viewer directly , breaking down boundaries between subject and object .