‘Do Not Say The “D” Word’: A Poem by Oluwaseun Olayiwola

‘Do Not Say The “D” Word’: A Poem by Oluwaseun Olayiwola

Each month, we publish an original poem written in response to a work of contemporary art. This month, poet Oluwaseun Olayiwola has chosen a work by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, Rakuchū-Rakugai-zu Byōbu: Iwasa Matabei RIP (2023–24) – on view in Japanese Art History à la Takashi Murakami at Gagosian, London, 10 December 2024 – 8 March 2025. Murakami – a popular-culture mainstay, whose particular strand of cutified chaos can be found everywhe…