Yoko Ono piece coming to Vancouver
Yoko Ono circa 1967. Mirrorpix/Courtesy Everett Collection.
A 50-year-old installation by Yoko Ono is coming to Vancouver.
Mend Piece is an “instructional work… Illustrating Ono’s long-standing artistic quest in social activism and world peace,” according to presenter the Rennie Museum.
The work will be on display March 1-31. It will be on the first floor of the Rennie Museum, which is in the Wing Sang building at 51 East Pender St.
The work “will transform the historic Wing Sang building into an intimate space for creative expression and bring people together in an act of collective healing and meditation.”
Ono first conceptualized the work in 1966. It “immerses the visitor in a dream-like state. Viewers enter into an all-white space and are welcomed to take a seat at the table to reassemble fragments of ceramic coffee cups and saucers using the provided twine, tape, and glue. Akin to the Japanese philosophy of Wabi-sabi, an embracing of the flawed or imperfect, Mend Piece encourages the participant to transform broken fragments into an object that prevails its own violent rupture. The mended pieces are then displayed on shelves installed around the room. The contemplative act of mending is intended to promote reparation starting within one’s self and community, and bridge the gap created by violence, hatred, and war. In the words of Yoko Ono herself, ‘Mend with wisdom, mend with love. It will mend the earth at the same time.’”
According to Allison Meier, writing at hypoallergic.com in 2015, “Like much of Ono’s most interesting work, what makes Mend Piece a recurring success is it takes her minimalist color and materials palette, here with the cascade of white ceramics, and through some simple direction asks the audience to drop pretension in considering larger ideas of life and death, including its edges of suffering.”
Mend Piece (Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York City version) will be accompanied by an espresso bar. The idea, according to the Rennie Museum, is to further “the notions of community and togetherness.”
Article source: http://www.insidevancouver.ca/2018/01/24/yoko-ono-rennie-museum/
