Working as an artist, film-maker, poet, musician, writer, performance artist and peace activist for over five decades, Yoko Ono has influenced generations of artists and received numerous prestigious awards. In her prolific career, she has embraced a wide range of media, defying traditional boundaries and creating new forms of artistic expression. Born in 1933 in Tokyo, she is a pioneer of conceptual art and her work has been presented internationally in major exhibitions and performances.
When I thought of the idea for #smilesfilm in 1960s, I was not thinking of anything in particular, just a "wouldn't it be nice?" kinda-thing.
When John, my husband, passed away, I was feeling down, so down, that it showed on my face when I looked at myself in the mirror. "This is bad," I thought. I could make myself ill, or if not, make myself a very irritable person, which would be not nice, especially for Sean, my son. I have to get out of this.
So I systematically smiled into the mirror every morning. My smile was forced and looked terrible. But as I kept smiling for some time, my smile became a natural smile. It not only became a smile with my mouth and my eyes, but my shoulders, my tummy, and finally, with my whole body!
I thought "Okay, I've won the battle!" That's when I realised how important it is for all of us to smile - not for anybody else, but for ourselves and our health. That was all. Soon I forgot about it as an impossible job.
Now the computer age has come in full swing. And I know that we can use this situation to make the whole world smile!
Please smile for your health and joy. If all of us do this, our planet will be a heaven, created by us.
#smilesfilm is being exhibited at the Serpentine Gallery this summer 21 June - 9 September in Yoko's show To The Light.
To join in with #smilesfilm, take or upload a picture on Instagram or Twitter, add the hashtag #smilesfilm in the text, and optionally add your geotag location if you want to appear on the...
(175) Comments | Posted 19 December 2012 | (23:00)