In Isola Bella “Wish Tree for Sicily”, from Taormina the universal message of peace and solidarity by Yoko Ono

John

By John

Is titled “Wish Tree for Sicily” – that is to say “The Wish Tree for Sicily” it’s the project of interactive art and itinerant started by Yoko Ono several years ago and which this summer lands in Sicilyset up in Beautiful island and until September 30th. An initiative of the Mudima Foundation of Milan, chaired by Gino DiMaggioand promoted by the Archaeological Park Naxos Taormina directed by Gabriella TiganoThe project is curated by Nino Sottile Zumbo.

Protagonists of the performance Of relational art created by the famous artist – a leading figure in American and Japanese avant-garde circles and who is remembered by all as the wife of the former musician of the Beatles, John Lennonmurdered in 1980 – are the visitors of Beautiful island which, as happens in Japan with tanzaku for the celebration of Tanabataparticipate in the initiative by expressing their wish on paper notes hanging from the branches of some trees: the large mastic tree that is part of the lush arboreal heritage of Isola Bella (created in the late nineteenth century by the English naturalist Lady Florence Trevelyan) and citrus plants.

Completing the performance project – an installation in continuous evolution that will involve the international public that in the summer stops on the islet connected to the mainland by a thin isthmus of sand and pebbles – are four pictograms on hemp with Zen aphorisms created by the artist, while a screen shows the 2009 documentary on loop. “Image Peace Tower”a masterpiece shot in Iceland and with period footage that Yoko Ono dedicated to the memory of John Lennon. Among the works also “Imagine Peace”of the series Word Piececreated specifically for this exhibition: an emblematic message to highlight the social emergencies of our times, such as solidarity and peace.

“Wish Tree for Sicily” to Beautiful island relates directly to the very recent major celebratory exhibition of the Japanese artist, “Music of the Mind” (Tate Modern, London, 2024), which documents his thought and poetics. The catalogue, which will be published by Mudima at the end of the Exhibition, it will collect testimonies, including textual ones, from the public who actively participated in the months in which this total art form invaded theBeautiful island.