Yuko Mohri's 'Entanglements': Exploring Invisible Systems Through Art
Yuko Mohri, a celebrated Japanese artist, has brought her expansive solo exhibition, 'Entanglements,' to Europe at Centro Botín in Spain. Following her distinguished participation at the Venice Art Biennale 2024, Mohri transforms the Renzo Piano-designed art center into an immersive experience of sound, motion, energy, and spontaneity. Her installations feature kinetic sculptures, self-playing instruments, and intricate electronic setups, all influenced by environmental elements such as humidity, dust, and air, blurring the lines between artistic creation and natural processes. This exhibition, which began at Pirelli HangarBicocca and has been enriched with new paintings and a site-specific film inspired by the local coastline in Santander, underscores Mohri’s ongoing fascination with the hidden systems and forces that govern our world, drawing inspiration from experimental music, common items, and organic phenomena.
Mohri’s artistic philosophy posits that these unseen forces are neither inherently optimistic nor disturbing but rather intrinsic elements of existence, constantly molding our reality whether we perceive them or not. Sound plays a pivotal role in her work, rooted in her background in fine arts and her time in the punk band Sisforsound, which continues to influence her rhythmic and sensory approach. Her installations feature pianos reacting to natural recordings, electronic systems powered by decaying fruit, and motors, fans, and scanners contributing to unique sonic arrangements. Mohri encourages audiences to pay attention to the ambient sounds typically filtered out, asserting that acknowledging these background noises can profoundly alter one’s perception of a space. This sensitivity extends to her choice of materials, as she recontextualizes ordinary objects like spoons, umbrellas, and kitchen tools into surprisingly delicate and impactful systems, demonstrating how mundane items can achieve a profound sense of novelty through unexpected applications.
Mohri crafts fluid environments that are perpetually influenced by their surroundings, with her artworks adapting to air currents, moisture levels, and electrical feedback, sometimes even incorporating debris from the exhibition space itself. These installations are dynamic and never truly static, evolving with time much like living entities, fostering an open dialogue with the audience. Visitors become active participants within these systems, contributing to the flow of sound, movement, and energy. The exhibition’s core concept, 'Entanglements,' emphasizes the profound interdependence of objects, individuals, forces, and environments within continuously shifting networks. Mohri’s creations highlight the inherent fragility and intricate connections within these technological, ecological, and social frameworks, offering a deeper understanding of our interwoven existence. Her recent experience at the Venice Biennale further broadened her perspective, leading her to introduce new, exploratory works for the Santander presentation, embodying her belief in continuous transformation rather than a pursuit of definitive artistic resolution.
Ultimately, Mohri hopes that attendees depart her exhibition with a refreshed perspective on their everyday world. Her goal is not to provide conclusive answers but to cultivate a heightened awareness of the subtle, underlying energies woven into the fabric of daily life. For Mohri, the greatest satisfaction comes from knowing that her art encourages visitors to perceive their ordinary surroundings with a renewed sense of wonder and attention.