MCA Presents Stunning Summer Exhibition by Japanese Artist Tatsuo Miyajima

The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) presents Tatsuo Miyajima: Connect with Everything until 5 March 2017, as part of the Sydney International Art Series. One of Japan's leading contemporary artists, Tatsuo Miyajima is known for his immersive and technologically-driven sculptures and installations. Curated by MCA Chief Curator Rachel Kent, this is the artist's first major exhibition in the Southern Hemisphere and is exclusive to Sydney.

Museum of Contemporary Art Director, Elizabeth Ann Macgregor OBE, said: Tatsuo Miyajima: Connect with Everything introduces audiences to works from across the artist's extensive career from early LEDs prototypes through to large-scale environments, as well as video and performance works which have expanded his object-based practice over time.'

'We thank Destination NSW for their ongoing support in bringing the work of incredible international artists to the MCA including: Annie Leibovitz, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Anish Kapoor, Yoko Ono, Chuck Close, Grayson Perry and now Tatsuo Miyajima.', Macgregor continued.

Miyajima represented Japan at the Venice Biennale in 1999 with the vast installation Mega Death, which forms a highlight of this survey. Mega Death is a room-scale installation of brilliant, blinking blue LEDs, each representative of human life or energy. A silent, twinkling memorial to the death during the Second World War recalling Hiroshima and Auschwitz, the lights are programmed to switch off at intervals, plunging viewers into complete darkness momentarily, before lighting up and counting once more. Another highlight of the MCAexhibition is a new installation, Arrow of Time (Unfinished Life), which was recently presented at The Met Breuer, New York.

Central to Miyajima's practice are numerical counters that count from 1 to 9 repeatedly using light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which then go dark momentarily. For Miyajima, the repetition of numbers, along with the shift from light to dark, reflect the importance of time. The artist draws inspiration from Buddhist philosophy with its exploration of mortality and the human cycles of life, death and renewal.

Other works in the exhibition Changing Time with Changing Self (2001) and Warp Time with Warp Self (2010), immerse visitors in a different way. They bathe people in coloured light, surround them from above and below, and reflect them through the use of polished, reflective surfaces including glass and mirror. This concept is what Miyajima calls 'Art in you'.

Tatsuo Miyajima: Connect With Everything, has been secured as part of the Sydney International Art Series through the support of strategic partner Destination NSW, the NSWGovernment's tourism and major events agency.

NSW Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres said, 'Since its inception in 2010, the Sydney International Art Series has brought the world's most outstanding artists exclusively to Sydney and this year's Museum of Contemporary Art Australia exhibition continues this tradition.'

Tatsuo Miyajima family space:

We invite you and your family to create, play and learn together as you turn light into music, meditate on a lotus leaf, create a collaborative light drawing and curl up on a bean bag with a picture book in our story time corner! Engage with key ideas in the artist's work and have fun in this interactive family space.

Make the most of your visit by taking a trip through the Tatsuo Miyajima: Connect with Everything exhibition before or after your visit to the Family Space.

All ages welcome
FREE, Drop-in

Open most weekends 10:30am to 4pm
5 November 2016 – 5 March 2017

Open daily during summer holidays 10:30am to 4pm
17 December 2016 – 15 January 2017 (Closed 25 December)

Tatsuo Miyajima-inspired dining experiences:

Throughout summer, the MCA Cafe offers a themed Japanese menu (meal + ticket offers available).

After the success of the Gin Garden in 2015, the MCA will also present a pop-up Cherry Blossom Bar until 5 March. The food menu pays homage to the cuisine of Japan and QT Hotel Sydney's mixologist Jared Thibault has developed signature cocktails exclusive to the exhibition. Order share plates of Izakaya-style fare – think edamame, gyoza and bento boxes – while you watch the ebb and flow of Circular Quay under a canopy of blossoms and lanterns. Open Thursday and Friday from 4pm; Saturday and Sunday from 4pm (meal + ticket offers available).

Mindfulness workshops with The School of Life:

Explore mindfulness meditation with The School of Life, inspired by Tatsuo Miyajima's art practice and presented in partnership with the MCA.

Saturday 19 November 2016
Saturday 10 December 2016
Saturday 28 January 2017
Saturday 25 February 2017
MCA, Seminar Room, Level 2
$95/$85 MCA Members and Concessions

Accommodation Packages available with QT Hotel Sydney.