Mariko Mori
Journey to the Seven
Light Bay/Primal Rhythm
2011 – present
HTML and web based
media, layered acrylic and pigments, software
Revealed in November of 2011, Mariko Mori’s latest project seeks
to create an environment where natural beauty combines seamlessly with technology.
The first of what she is calling her ‘earth works’, Primal Rhythm is located in the scenic Seven Light Bay of Miyako
Island, in Okinawa, Japan. Japanese culture places significant emphasis on the
balance of masculinity and femininity, as seen in the well known symbol of Yin
and Yang. The celestial and terrestrial are similarly compared, and marriage of
the two is to achieve the ultimate balance. Mori crafted two structures for her
outdoor installation, the Sun Pillar and the Tida Dome, or Moon Stone. The 14-foot
Sun Pillar, erected on the surface of a large rock jutting out of the ocean, is
made of layered acrylic, with various colors of pigment between each. The Moon
Stone is a floating, egg shaped, acrylic sphere that has been programmed to
change color according to the tide level. At high tide it is blue, and at low
tide it is red, with five more colors in between. On any given day, the
sunlight is refracted through the transparent Sun Pillar, illuminating it with
color, while the Moon Stone glows according to the ebb and flow of the sea. But
on the afternoon of the winter solstice, the sun strikes the pillar at just the
right angle to cast a shadow directly onto the Moon Stone several yards behind
it, symbolizing death becoming rebirth, male united with female, the “sacred
marriage of the sun and moon.” For Mori,
Primal Rhythm is “a prayer for peace
and harmony for every living being on earth.”
Additional Sources:
http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-features/news/mariko-mori/