Mariko Mori on Peace Crystal, Invisible Forces, and Buddhist Philosophy

Japanese artist Mariko Mori has installed Peace Crystal, an oval structure housing a 1.6-meter glass crystal, in the garden of Palazzo Corner della Ca' Granda in Venice until October 7, 2024. The crystal, weighing 1.5 tons, symbolizes the evolutionary moment humans stood upright and developed intelligence and spirituality. The installation uses a Himawari solar device invented by Mori's father 50 years ago, which tracks the sun and channels sunlight via optical cable into the Hōjū, a wish-fulfilling jewel form from Buddhist iconography. Mori, born in Tokyo in 1967, has lived in London and New York and now resides on Miyako Island in a house she designed with Ring Architects. A pioneer in applying neuroscience to contemporary art, she discusses the invisible forces that move the world—desire, love, energy, dark matter—and humanity's responsibility toward nature. She believes humans are not separate from nature, a lesson highlighted by COVID-19. The crystal will later be installed in Ethiopia, a site of early Homo sapiens. Mori sees Buddhism as a nexus between neuroscience, art, and spirituality, emphasizing visualization and imagination as sources of future creation. She notes that 96% of the universe is invisible, and art is the medium to explore and make visible the invisible world.