An artistic look at CERN

The Japanese artist Mariko Mori visited CERN on 25 May. She met several scientists and found the visit very inspiring.

CERN is becoming increasingly popular among artists of all kinds, from filmmakers to photographers, illustrators etc. Mariko Mori is not new to science-inspired artistic works; in 2006 she made Tom Na H-iu, a 3.2 m high glass sculpture illuminated by an internal LED connected in real time to the Super-Kamiokande neutrino detector in Japan.

"When I worked with Super-Kamiokande I already had Tom Na H-iu in my mind; this time I am visiting CERN for my personal research", says Mori. "The LHC is a fantastic instrument whose challenge is to find the reality that we don’t know yet. In a way, art is also about creating new reality, although using a completely different approach. For me it is very important to gather information on what the whole scientific world is searching and reaching for: the truth of our existence, the truth about the Universe, the Big Bang, life. I find that the research carried out at CERN shows the human capacity to explore and find new things, in much the same way as art does".

Was the visit inspiring? "Very much so!", she replies. "I am very curious to know what will be the outcome of the ATLAS experiment. It will certainly bring us a different kind of awareness". So now we are looking forward to seeing the artistic outcome that will certainly follow from the creative mind of Mariko.

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