Rebirth: Recent Work by Mariko Mori - "Primal Memory & Mask"

Rebirth: Recent Work by Mariko Mori

Friday, October 11 — Sunday, January 12

Mariko Mori created Primal Memory and Mask based upon standing stone circles found in the center of Jōmon villages. It has been theorized that these stone circles, like Buddhist mandalas, were ways of representing the vastness of the cosmos. Another possibility is that the stone circles were used to mark the passage of time, very similar to ancient Celtic cultures.



An icon of 1990s Japanese pop art, the visionary artist Mariko Mori has always transformed herself effortlessly and faster than anyone else into the future. Japan Society Gallery presents her latest countenance in this major solo exhibition, Rebirth, as a significant artistic statement by Mori. The entire gallery space is transformed into Mori's world through 35 sculptures, drawings, photographs, sound and video works, strung together into a narrative of birth, death and rebirth—a continuous circle of life force that the artist observes on a cosmic scale. Journey through space, time and consciousness in this immersive installation.

Primal Memory, 2004. Lucite; 9 7/8 × 50 × 51 inches. Courtesy
of SCAI THE BATHHOUSE, Tokyo and Sean Kelly Gallery,
New York, and Mask, 2004. Acrylic; 8 × 8 inches. Courtesy of
University Museum, University of Tokyo.