On February 22nd, I went to visit the Lisson gallery in order to explore Tatsuo Miyajima’s work.
The Lisson Gallery was designed by Tony Fretton Architects and is compromised of two buildings, one created in 1986 and the other in 1992. Architecturally, the Lisson Gallery was well designed for it’s purpose. Having big open rooms and large windows allows space for successful exhibitions. By stripping the original buildings from all architectural elements and creating a simple yet contemporary look, the Lisson Gallery is a space many artists have enjoyed using.
Tatsuo Miyajima is a Japanese artist who focuses on creating sculptures and installation art. He focuses on using contemporary, anti-art materials in order to reflect his spiritual beliefs and explore Buddhist philosophy. A key element of Miyajima’s work is technology. Through the use of digital light- emitted diode (LED) counters. Each light depicts a different number, ranging from 1-9 and flashes continuously in cycles. The number represent life and death and ‘0’ represents the end which doesn’t appear in his work. This idea was inspired by the Buddhist belief of eternity and that ‘time connects everything’.
Figure : Painting of Change, Tatsuo Miyajima, Lisson Gallery
The installation ‘Art in You’ at the Lisson Gallery was compromised of three works- ‘Painting of Change’, ‘Keep Changing (Mondrian)’ and ‘Unstable Times’. All three bodies of work were creating between 2020-2021 and are being displayed for the first time. Miyajima work is made out of LED technology installed on fabric and LED installations on panels. The same numbers (1-9) are depicted through lighting, suggesting the cycle of life.
The first room (see figure 1) is occupied by the series ‘Painting of Change’. These works are achieved through using wood that has been shaped into a single number and painting in colours through oil. Next to the number there is a dice ( see figure 2) which the owner/viewer should roll and then change the number into the number displayed on the dice. This is achieved by using panels which can move around. The dice symbolises chance and how life is constantly changing but everything, every atom and cell is connected. This again goes back to Buddhism who believe that everything is ever changing yet linked.
Figure 2: Dice
The second room (see figure 3), ‘Unstable Time’, we see Miyajima’s famous LED lightings mounted on fabric, a composition we have never seen prior. Here again the same numbers are displayed, each on their own piece of fabric. By using nylon fabric, Miyajima plays with a much lighter yet complicated medium. This is because the weightlessness of the fabric makes it easy to move with the slightest wind. The movement again suggests the uncertainty and the constant flux of time.
Figure 3: Unstable Time, Tatsuo Miyajima, Lisson Gallery
The last room (see figure 4) exhibits ‘Keep Changing (Mondrian)’ in which Miyajima uses his traditional LED on panel style. Here once again the artist plays with the number 1-9, rejecting zero. When asked why zero never appears in his works, Tatsuo Miyajima states “zero is a western concept. There is no physical zero”. The artist replaces zero with a short void where all the lights turn off, this represents the space between life and death. After this the cycle restarts suggesting reincarnation. In these works, Miyajima uses the colours green, yellow, red white and blue which symbolise Earth’s ‘Five Elements’. The series ‘Keep Changing (Mondrian)’ is also a reflection of Piet Modrian’s ‘Victory Boogie Woogie’.
Figure 4: Keep Changing (Mondrian), Tatsuo Miyajima, Lisson Gallery
Miyajima’s ideas can be depicted in interior design through ‘Wabi Sabi’ (see figure 5 as an example), which means ‘rustic simplicity’ in Japanese. This concept has been around since the 15th century and it’s basis are found on three principles: nothings lasts forever, nothing is fully complete and nothing is perfect. These principles have similarities with the ideas Miyajimi conveys in his works.
‘Wabi Sabi’ focuses on minimalistic and authentic design which appreciates the flaws of objects and materials. By accepting imperfections such as the cracks in wood, weathered materials etc we are invited to find beauty in impermanence. This idea of embracing faults, derives from the Chinese Zen Buddhist philosophy, ‘Three Marks of Existence’. The colour palette of the ‘Wabi Sabi’ style is muted, focusing on earthy tones, linking us back to the harmony of nature.
To continue on the topic of how Miyajima’s work can be translated into interior design, LED lighting is a very important factor. Since the development of LED, lighting has become much more experimental. over the last couple of years, we have seen the way in which art and light can merge together through the creation of sculpturesque lamps. LED lighting has many benefits, not only do they have a long lifespan but they are also environmentally friendly. This is because the internal structure of LED lighting does not use mercury, unlike many other lighting technologies. Furthermore, they allow greater freedom as lights can be controlled to be dimmed or be at a high brightness. Although the actual LED lights are expensive, over the long run they are economical. This is because they waste less energy and therefore need less energy to function.