Glass artist Keiko Mukaide has used fire, water, glass, stone and light to create a thought provoking installation called The Memory of Place at York St Mary’s in York.

This beautiful medieval church opened as a contemporary visual art venue in 2004.  Each year, York Museums Trust commissions an artist to create a site-specific installation inspired by the atmospheric building.

Keiko has transformed the interior of the church, creating a spiritual space in which to reflect on the memory of loved ones.

In response to the sense of the space, and to the visual remains of the building’s former life, the stained glass, grave covers and carvings, she has created a pool of water which fills the nave of the church. The water in the pool flows towards the transept of the church, where a suspended column of glass rods is dramatically top-lit, suggesting a spiritual path to a higher place. 

Visitors are invited to become involved with the installation by lighting a votive candle and floating it on the pool - connecting our modern life with that of our ancestors.  Keiko said this was inspired by a religious ceremony in Japan called Shoro nagashi. This is where people release lanterns onto a river in mid summer, symbolising their ancestors’ spirits ascending to heaven.  Keiko felt that the ancient Eastern ceremony is relevant today in Western society because of the timeless bond between ourselves and those who went before us.

The church itself dates back as far as 1020 however the bulk of the building dates to the early 13th century, with 14th and 15th century. It was deconsecrated in 1958 becoming a heritage centre and then an art venue.  The first installation, Breathing Space, by Caroline Broadhead, took place in 2005 and was followed by Echo, by Susie MacMurray, in 2006.  

Keiko, who was born in Japan, studied at Musashino Art University in Tokyo and the Royal College of Art in London.  She moved to Scotland in 1993 and is now a research fellow at Edinburgh College of Art.

She was short-listed for the 1998 Jerwood Prize for Applied Arts: Glass and has exhibited internationally.  Her work has evolved from single pieces for galleries, to large site-specific installations responding to physical and spiritual environments.  She uses glass in many forms to create a link between viewer, artist and the natural world. 

The Memory of Place by Keiko Mukaide is open from 4 May to 28 October 2007 at York St. Mary's, Castlegate, York YO1 9RN.  Entry is free.  Opening hours 10am to 4pm 

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