When ARTINFO stepped through the threshold of Japanese artist Mariko Mori’s midtown Manhattan studio for this AI Interview shoot, we were momentarily blinded. Every single surface in the space was gleaming white, from the spotless tabletops to Mori’s personal desk, leather armchairs, and Mac computers. Even Mori herself was covered head to toe in a monastically colorless costume — a strict aesthetic that points to the kind of austere utopianism also present in Mori’s most recent project, “Journey to Seven Light Bay,” currently on view at the online-only Adobe Virtual Museum.
“Journey to Seven Light Bay” is a digital version of Mori’s “Primal Rhythm,” a physical sculpture installed in a cove in Okinawa, Japan that responds to the tides, seasons, and solstices in real time. The installation’s “Moon Stone” element, which floats in the water, gradually changes color as the tide ebbs and flows. Perched on a rock, the “Sun Pillar” will cast a shadow directly onto the Moon Stone during the Winter Solstice.
Mori gave ARTINFO a tour of her online installation and told us about the benefits of working in virtual space, how she draws inspiration from nature, and her plans to install large-scale sculptures like “Primal Rhythm” on all seven continents — starting this year with Brazil.
Watch ARTINFO’s AI Interview with Mariko Mori below