Mariko Mori, Peace Crystal, 2016-2024
Palazzo Corner della Ca’ Granda, Venice
June 16 – October 07, 2024

Artist Mariko Mori invites us to reflect on our shared humanity through Peace Crystal, a work that opened today in Venice in the garden of Palazzo Corner della Ca’ Granda, company headquarters of Città Metropolitana, and is visible from the Grand Canal. The installation is available to visit free of charge by reservation only until October 7, by the Bloomberg Connects app, or by booking a visit through the Palazzo Diedo ticket office. The concept of the work reflects Buddhist philosophy: it symbolizes the body as a container for the eternal soul that constantly cycles through life, death, and rebirth. Mariko Mori reveals, “In 2016, I had a profound and transformative encounter with a great light. This revelation revealed to me that we are all blessed and deeply loved at every moment of our lives. Our existence is a testament to our interconnectedness, signifying that we are part of a greater whole. Peace Crystal symbolizes this unity, linking the celestial and terrestrial, and embodying the eternal soul within us. I am deeply honored to unveil my fourth project in Venice, a city I hold dear, within the enchanting embrace of this magical garden.”

The exhibition includes a visit to Hoju, a fiberglass structure that contains Peace Crystal, a 167.50 cm tall crystal glass – the average height of the modern human. Balanced on its narrowest point, Peace Crystal represents the evolutionary point at which humans stood upright, a pivotal moment which Mori believes led to the development of intelligence and spirituality, enabling humans to receive energy from celestial and terrestrial forces. The activity within the crystal represents the energy of life; illumination by solar light gives the effect that the work breathes and is alive. The visit also includes a video documenting the Faou Foundation’s work over the years.

After the Venice exhibition, Peace Crystal will be donated to Ethiopia and permanently installed in a cave, thus honoring the origins of man that began in Ethiopia itself, the cradle of evolution for more than six million years. The artwork reminds us that we all belong to one family tree, and that all individuals around the world are part of a shared humanity. Peace Crystal is the third in a series of monumental public projects created by the Faou Foundation to place six site-specific artworks that engage unique ecological contexts and local communities on each of the six habitable continents. Set in the beauty of their pristine environments, the installations are a prayer for harmony and a reminder that every living being exists to revere Earth’s treasures.

more. www.faoufoundation.org