The Royal Academy of Arts, London, will present Mariko Mori at its second annual Artist Talk event in Hong Kong during ART HK 12, as an Asia Art Archive satellite event.
The event on Thursday 17 May 2012 will feature the artist in conversation with Charles Saumarez Smith, Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Arts, and Richard Chang, Collector and Trustee of the Royal Academy Trust. The discussion will focus on Mori’s art and how this has developed since her participation in the Royal Academy of Arts exhibition Apocalypse: Beauty and Horror in Contemporary Art in 2000. It will seek to position her current practice in the wider context of the Japanese and Chinese art scenes.
Mariko Mori’s large-scale installation Dream Temple (1999) was featured in the ‘Apocalypse’ exhibition. A homage to Yumedono, originally built in AD739 and considered the first Buddhist temple in Japan its references to Eastern religion, the Yogacara (“Mind Only”) School of Buddhism, are characteristic of Mori’s body of work. Dream Temple inspired Miracle (1999-2001), a delicate installation of glass objects, a pendant and computer generated images – which will be presented at SCAI THE BATHHOUSE booth at ART HK12.
Since 2000, Mori has remained arguably one of Japan’s most visible contemporary artists. Her current artistic interests are centred on a world in which human beings are one with nature, where the rhythm of humanity moves in concert with that of the natural environment. Recent projects aim to spark this reminder in our consciousness and to celebrate the existing balance in nature and this idea is reflected through themes of life, death, rebirth, and the universe. Her work is currently on display at the Asia Society in the inaugural exhibition Transforming Minds: Buddhism in Artuntil 20 May 2012.
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects, whose purpose is to be a clear, strong voice for art and artists. The RA promotes the creation, enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts through exhibitions, education and debate, and recently staged a hugely-successful major exhibition of landscape works by Royal Academician David Hockney RA.
The RA is committed to the development of art and artists in Asia, and as part its commitment, this is the second in a series of artists’ talks and collaborations in Hong Kong. The Royal Academy will also present its first exhibition in Singapore; Encounter: The Royal Academy in Asia, from 19 September until 24 October 2012 at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Lasalle College of the Arts.
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