Listen to the Sound of the Earth Turning

Since 2020, an invisible virus has stolen away our everyday, and wrought havoc on our way of life and state of mind. Under these circumstances much artistic expression, including contemporary art, resonates more keenly than ever. Listen to the Sound of the Earth Turning explores ways to live this new life as the pandemic persists, and the nature of “wellbeing” that is the holistic health of both body and mind, from multiple perspectives found in contemporary art. Works on subjects with a connection to life and existence – nature and humans, the individual and society, family, the repetitious nature of daily living, the spiritual world, life and death – will encourage us to consider what it means to “live well.”

Emphasizing the type of experience only accessible in the real-life space of the museum, this exhibition will showcase approximately 140 works by sixteen artists from both home and abroad – including installations, sculptures, video, photography, paintings and more. Honing the senses and engaging with art by experiencing first-hand the materials and scale of works will prompt viewers to consider what “wellbeing” means for themselves, rather than what is suggested by others or wider society.

The title of the exhibition is a quote from a piece of instruction art (*) by Yoko Ono, and invites us to expand our consciousness to encompass all the majesty of the cosmos, reminding us that we are no more than a tiny part of its workings, and guiding us toward new ways of thinking. As we address questions of human life in the world at an essential level now that the pandemic has struck us, perhaps it is this very imagination that will present to us possibilities for the future.

Exhibition text by Mori Art Museum