tatsuo miyajima: diamond in you

tatsuo miyajima
diamond in you no. 6, 2010
LED, IC, stainless mirror, iron, electric wire
102 x 105 x 33 cm
all images courtesy of galleri andersson / sandström

japanese artist tatsuo miyajima is known for his sculptural works, often monumental art pieces comprised of LED-counters, slowly ticking and  counting from 1 to 9 or 9 to 1. the constant scoring symbolizes infinite time, but the number 0 always excluded, as miyajima relates it to stagnation and death.

tatsuo miyajima
diamond in you no. 11, 2010
LED, IC, stainless mirror, iron, electric wire
65 x 67 x 26 cm

his new series of works ‘diamond in you’ relates to the concept of kongochi – the highest enlightenment in buddhism. the word ‘kongo’ means diamond – the hardest diamond shatters hesitation and brings glorious wisdom. buddhism preaches that kongo, the diamond, cannot be acquired from outside, but every human holds it naturally.

left: tatsuo miyajima, diamond in you no. 6, 2010, LED, IC, stainless mirror, iron, electric wire, 102 x 105 x 33 cm
right: tatsuo miyajima, diamond in you no. 11, 2010, LED, IC, stainless mirror, iron, electric wire 65 x 67 x 26 cm

‘diamond in you’ signifies this inner diamond by LED technology and unfolding mirrors of stainless steel. the buddhist symbol of a half-sphere represents the personal universe of each being. if one were to unfold the sculptures, they would discover that all of these works consist precisely of this form. all works are composed of triangles and LEDs designed to be a perfect semicircular globe by arranging it inward. this semicircular globe is a sign of the inner universe. the ‘diamond in you’ series is currently on show at galleri andersson / sandström  stockholm / umea until november 12th, 2010.

left: tatsuo miyajima, diamond in you no. 15, 2010, LED, IC, stainless mirror, iron, electric wire, 65 x 78 x 17 cm
right: tatsuo miyajima, diamond in you no. 4, 2010, LED, IC, stainless mirror, iron, electric wire, 94 x 112 x 32 cm

installation view at galleri andersson /
sandström, 2010

tatsuo miyajima was born in tokyo in 1957. since the 80s, he has been creating works of varied character, dealing with notions of time and space as central themes. he was introduced to the western world at the 1988 venice art biennale and 11 years later, at the 48th biennale,  reigned over the japanese pavilion with a wide sky of blue LED digits.