Thousand Road

Tatsuo Miyajima uses state-of-the-art LED (light-emitting diode) technology to create ordered yet constantly changing installations that embody the Buddhist concept of infinite time without beginning or end. A self-described child of the electronic present, Miyajima uses contemporary technology as a means of communicating truths that transcend cultural differences. 

The exhibition comprises a single, room-sized installation and two companion drawings. A mysteriously beautiful work occupying a darkened gallery, Thousand Road (1991) is made up of one hundred LED units, each consisting of ten digital counters, laid out on the floor in two parallel lines, like a road. It is a road that appears to be in perpetual motion, animated by the pulse of the blinking red and green counters. Thousand Road is a reflection on the nature of time, governed by change, continuity, and connection, principles that are both philosophical and empirical. 

Born in Tokyo in 1957, Tatsuo Miyajima came to international attention in 1988 with his work Sea of Time included in the Venice Biennale. Since then, he has taken part in many important group and solo exhibitions around the world, although his work has rarely been seen in Canada. 

Exhibition has been organized and circulated by the National Gallery of Canada.