Mariko Mori: All That Shines

Tokyo-born Mariko Mori is recognised for her visionary fusion of art, science and spirituality. After studying at New York’s Chelsea College of Art and completing the Whitney Museum’s Independent Study Program, she emerged in the early 1990s with striking performance-based photographs and videos exploring post-human identity and the aesthetics of a rapidly technologising world. Over the decades since, her practice expanded from futurist imagery to a broader investigation of themes including ancient cosmologies, quantum physics and ecological interconnectedness.

Mori’s large-scale installations, often created through collaborations with scientists, engineers and architects, invite audiences into meditative environments shaped by Buddhist cosmology and the concept of ‘oneness’. Her works are held in major global collections, and the Faou Foundation she established and runs aims to install site-specific public artworks on six continents to reconnect humanity with the natural world.

This show at the Mori Art Museum is the artist’s first major exhibition in Japan since 2002. Organised with the Guggenheim Museum’s Asian Art Initiative, the sweeping retrospective brings together some 80 works spanning three decades: interactive installations, sculptures, videos, photographs, drawings, and rare archival materials shown publicly for the first time.

Arranged as a chronological journey, the exhibition traces Mori’s evolution from cyborg-inspired early works to the immersive, contemplative environments of recent years. By foregrounding themes of interdependence, cosmic time and environmental stewardship, the show invites visitors to reflect on humanity’s place within a fragile and interconnected universe.