Mariko Mori - A Pioneer And Icon
Mariko Mori is a Japanese interdisciplinary artist born in 1967.
She studied at Bunka Fashion College in the late 1980s and then moved to London to study at the Byam Shaw School of Art and the Chelsea College of Art and Design. After graduating from her studies in England she then participated in the Whitney Independent Study Program at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.
A constant factor throughout her career is her fascination with technology and spirituality, and the use of technology as means of transcending oneself and one's consciousness. She has explained her fascination with human consciousness due to experiencing sleep-paralysis in her twenties that lasted for multiple hours, which left her feeling unsure whether or not she was alive.
Other than this, another persistent topic and theme found in her work is the juxtaposition between western technology and eastern mythology.
Mori’s work, especially her earlier ones, often involve her own body as the main subject. With installations where she can be found as a waitress, an alien woman, and a futuristic form of the Buddhist deity Kichijoten.
In 2010, she also founded a non-profit called the Faou Foundation, which aims to create six art installations around the world that pays homage and highlight the natural environment of the different areas.
