Yoko Ono is bringing her famed to the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C.—but with a virtual twist for the age of social distancing.
The interactive artwork typically allows viewers to write their wishes for the future of humanity on small slips of paper and hang them from the branches of trees planted by the Japanese artist in places around the world.
In 2007, Ono gifted a dogwood tree, titled , to the Hirshhorn, and it “blooms” with museum goers’ wishes each summer. (The rest of the year, Ono asks that you whisper your wish to the tree.)
This year, art lovers are invited to share photographs of their handwritten wishes with the museum via Instagram under the hashtags #WishTreeDC and #YokoOno. Hirshhorn staff will then transfer as many wishes as possible to paper tags, sharing photographs of the installation on social media as it grows.
As always, the wishes will be harvested at the end of the season, and buried on Videy Island in Iceland, at the foot of Ono’s installation , a memorial dedicated to her late husband, John Lennon.
<img class="size-large wp-image-1959171" src="https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/press_076v3jj-1079×720-1024×683.jpeg" alt="Yoko Ono, (2007), installed at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Photo by Andy DelGiudice.” width=”1024″ height=”683″ srcset=”https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/press_076v3jj-1079×720-1024×683.jpeg 1024w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/press_076v3jj-1079×720-300×200.jpeg 300w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/press_076v3jj-1079×720-50×33.jpeg 50w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/press_076v3jj-1079×720.jpeg 1079w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>
Yoko Ono, (2007), installed at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Photo by Andy DelGiudice.
“We are honored to partner with Yoko Ono to share her timeless message of peace,” Hirshhorn director Melissa Chiu said in a statement. “The past year has challenged the Hirshhorn to translate the power of artworks including for online audiences… . We’ll continue to invite global audiences to connect through modern art in meaningful ways until we can be together in person once again.”
The museum has also created instructions for making your own at home. To date, the Hirshhorn has collected over 100,000 wishes for the project, which has had more than a million participants worldwide.
See some of the wishes submitted to this year’s at the Hirshhorn below.
<img class="size-large wp-image-1959180" src="https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Hiroshi-Sugimoto-Wish2-1024×726.jpeg" alt="Hiroshi Sugimoto's wish for Yoko Ono's (2007). Written on Japanese rice paper, it reads peace and mind (or heart), with two stamps by the artist. Photo courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian. ” width=”1024″ height=”726″ srcset=”https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Hiroshi-Sugimoto-Wish2-1024×726.jpeg 1024w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Hiroshi-Sugimoto-Wish2-300×213.jpeg 300w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Hiroshi-Sugimoto-Wish2-50×35.jpeg 50w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Hiroshi-Sugimoto-Wish2.jpeg 1280w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>
Hiroshi Sugimoto’s wish for Yoko Ono’s (2007). Written on Japanese rice paper, it reads, “Peace and mind (or heart),” with two stamps by the artist. Photo courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian.
<img class="size-large wp-image-1959179" src="https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Ugo-Rondinone-wish1-741×1024.jpg" alt="Ugo Rondinone's wish for Yoko Ono's (2007). Photo courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian. ” width=”741″ height=”1024″ srcset=”https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Ugo-Rondinone-wish1-741×1024.jpg 741w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Ugo-Rondinone-wish1-217×300.jpg 217w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Ugo-Rondinone-wish1-36×50.jpg 36w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Ugo-Rondinone-wish1.jpg 1063w” sizes=”(max-width: 741px) 100vw, 741px”>
Ugo Rondinone’s wish for Yoko Ono’s (2007). Photo courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian.
<img class="size-large wp-image-1959178" src="https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Ken-Lum-wish-1024×753.jpeg" alt="Ken Lum's wish for Yoko Ono's (2007). Photo courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian. ” width=”1024″ height=”753″ srcset=”https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Ken-Lum-wish-1024×753.jpeg 1024w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Ken-Lum-wish-300×221.jpeg 300w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Ken-Lum-wish-50×37.jpeg 50w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Ken-Lum-wish.jpeg 1280w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>
Ken Lum’s wish for Yoko Ono’s (2007). Photo courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian.
<img class="size-large wp-image-1959177" src="https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Byron-Kim-wish-1024×768.jpeg" alt="Byron Kim's wish for Yoko Ono's (2007). Photo courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian. ” width=”1024″ height=”768″ srcset=”https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Byron-Kim-wish-1024×768.jpeg 1024w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Byron-Kim-wish-300×225.jpeg 300w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Byron-Kim-wish-50×38.jpeg 50w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Byron-Kim-wish.jpeg 1280w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>
Byron Kim’s wish for Yoko Ono’s (2007). Photo courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian.
<img class="size-large wp-image-1959175" src="https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/Liz-Larner-wish-1024×799.jpg" alt="Liz Larner's wish for Yoko Ono's (2007). Photo courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian. ” width=”1024″ height=”799″ srcset=”https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/Liz-Larner-wish-1024×799.jpg 1024w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/Liz-Larner-wish-300×234.jpg 300w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/Liz-Larner-wish-50×39.jpg 50w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/Liz-Larner-wish.jpg 1230w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>
Liz Larner’s wish for Yoko Ono’s (2007). Photo courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian.
<img class="wp-image-1959173 size-full" src="https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_SarahAnneJohnson1.jpg" alt="Sarah Anne Johnsons's wish for Yoko Ono's (2007). Photo courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian.” width=”640″ height=”480″ srcset=”https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_SarahAnneJohnson1.jpg 640w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_SarahAnneJohnson1-300×225.jpg 300w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_SarahAnneJohnson1-50×38.jpg 50w” sizes=”(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px”>
Sarah Anne Johnsons’s wish for Yoko Ono’s (2007). Photo courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian.
<img class="wp-image-1959172 size-full" src="https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Michelle-Stuart-wish1.jpg" alt="Michelle Stuart's wish for Yoko Ono's (2007). Photo courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian. ” width=”1233″ height=”2133″ srcset=”https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Michelle-Stuart-wish1.jpg 1233w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Michelle-Stuart-wish1-173×300.jpg 173w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Michelle-Stuart-wish1-592×1024.jpg 592w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Michelle-Stuart-wish1-29×50.jpg 29w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2021/04/HMSG_Michelle-Stuart-wish1-1110×1920.jpg 1110w” sizes=”(max-width: 1233px) 100vw, 1233px”>
Michelle Stuart’s wish for Yoko Ono’s (2007). Photo courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian.
Source: Exhibition - news.artnet.com