Introducing the top-notch world artists to Ukraine, the PinchukArtCentre presented a solo exhibition of Mariko Mori, one of the most seminal artists coming out of Japan in last fifty years. It has been the first exhibition of her works in the Central and Eastern Europe ever. The exhibition showcases works created during last 15 years: staged photography, 3-D video and installations, including/ probably, the most impressive Wave UFO (1999-2002), Oneness (2003), Transcirle (2004) and Tom NA H-IU (2005-2006). Also, some Mariko Mori’s videos will be displayed in the PinchukArtCentre’s video-lounge (5th floor). Exhibition is on the view April 12 through June 15.

«Oneness» exhibition was named after a piece of art created by Mori after the terrorist attack 11/09 in the NYC. It’s an interactive installation with 6 aliens of 1 meter of height standing in the circle and holding their hands. It conveys the idea of openness and overcoming the fear before unknown, which takes not only courage but also sense of humor since visitors have to hold the alien to see his eyes blinking and hear his hear beating. It is a metaphor of society’s attitude towards the outcasts and it basically calls to overcome the stiffness and prejudice.

Since the time of her first solo exhibition in 1992 Mariko Mori makes use of elements from both Japanese and Western art history, which she then combines with influences from modern popular culture, design, fashion, music, manga, and science fiction. Mori presented photos and videos as a kind of fashionable stylized spiritual entity. Floating above water or in a cave, she seems to wish to lead the viewer along the path to enlightenment. Influenced by Japanese religions such as Shinto and Buddhism, and motivated by the renewed Western quest for spirituality, Mori also realized several striking installations, thus marking a new phase in her artistic profession.

In her recent works Mori discovers the cosmological experience of our forefathers. For this purpose, she visited and documented all kinds of megalithic monuments in both Japan and Scotland. These formed the basis for photographs and a series of ultra-high-tech installations. Akin to megaliths and stone circles used to make time tangible, these installations react to certain events in the universe being a present-day translation of the ancient models.

Description of pieces

Transcirle installation symbolizes the interaction between Sun and surrounding planets
(1 year corresponds to 9 minutes).

Installation Tom NA H-IU is on-line connected with Kamiokande research center in Japan (the centre registers neutrinos coming from our Galaxy and Andromeda Galaxy and passing through the Earth when Supernova emerges). The installation reacts to signals received from Japan through Internet by changing its color.

Enlightenment Capsule is illuminated by sunlight transmitted from special radar on the roof of the PinchukArtCentre through fiber optic cable directly to the installation; therefore, the illumination depends on sunny weather in Kyiv.

Beginning of the End (1996-2006) series is exhibited on the new floor of the PinchukArtCentre. Mariko Mori documented herself spending hours in the special capsule set up in the most significant places from the point of view of civilization development, in the settlements of the past, the present, and the future, including Teotihuacan (Mexico), Tiahuanaco (Bolivia), Angkor Wat (Cambodia), Giza  (Egypt), Sibuya (Japan), Shanghai (China), London (Great Britain), Paris (France), Hong Kong (China), New York (the United States), Brasilia (Brazil), and Dubai (United Arab Emirates).

One of the most striking pieces on the exhibition is Wave UFO interactive installation mounted in the special hall, in the Arena City yard. Wave UFO is a wonderfully hybrid object made as extremely sophisticated machine, a sort of giant sculpture and biomorphous architecture all at the same time. The visitor is invited to enter the Wave UFO to make a mental journey in which the brain waves of the travelers are realistically reproduced and are a component of a vision-like computer animation. A six-minute stay within Wave UFO represents the synthesis between the various categories of travel: three-dimensional, spiritual, and temporal.