Temple of Mnemon, 2018

Anne Lilly

  • It is the merest suggestion of a building: four columns and beams are the only structure, a shifting eight-mirror canopy the only ceiling, four wooden boards with headrests the only furniture.

    And who is Mnemon? Mnemon is a unit of memory, a piece of mind. Mnemon is you, and this temple is hosting a conversation between you and the world. It’s a significant interview. While the world is infinitely encrypted, a share of its secret meaning is vested in you.

    When you lie here and look up into the sky, you see downward as well. You see how the earth and grass encase you. Pairs of mirrors slide back and forth to form a void, and then heal it. If other people are present, you see them come into being, and then be taken away. You also see how you appear in the world, and then how you disappear, as the robe of your body is parted, and you are surrendered to the sky.

    During your visit to Temple of Mnemon, you need consider no other moment than today, envision no other place than right here, and sympathize with no other human life than the one you are living.

    Materials: tempered glass mirror; plastic; aluminum, steel, and stainless steel; motor; micro-controller; and hardwood benches.

  • Anne Lilly uses carefully engineered motion to manipulate our perceptions of time, place and self. Her austere, meticulously constructed sculptures move in organic, fluid and mesmeric ways, pressing rational qualities against the sensuous response of each piece. Lilly studied engineering at RPI and received her BArch from Virginia Tech. She works in Somerville, Massachusetts.