London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE showcases a series of contemporary art commissions, responding and bringing fresh perspective to the site’s archaeological history. Our current installation is Performance of Entrapment by Jane and Louise Wilson.
Performance of Entrapment centres 2,000-year-old oak stakes discovered during excavations for Bloomberg’s European headquarters believed to have once supported a crossing over the River Walbrook – an ancient waterway that flowed beside the Temple of Mithras, and still runs beneath the streets of modern London. Using microscopic imagery, the Wilsons draw inspiration from the wood’s structure and DNA sequencing, to create large-scale, visually layered artworks.
Performance of Entrapment investigates parallels between the Roman Temple of Mithras and Ise Jingu shrine in Japan — two sacred sites – the Roman Temple of Mithras (3rd Century AD) and Japan’s Ise Jingu shrine (4th Century BC). Though geographically and culturally distant, they both feature similarities in iconography and house significant relics: the head of Mithras in London, and the Sacred Mirror of the Emperor at Ise Jingu. A film by the Wilsons, created with shrine authorities within the grounds of Ise Jingu, explores sisterhood, duality and renewal.
The Wilsons explain, “Ise City is the home to the Ise Ondo, a traditional female folk-dance group that dates to the Edo period. The film, made with the group, explores re-enactment of traditions… This creates a feeling of being in two worlds at once – strange, yet familiar – like looking at ourselves through a mirror.”
By weaving together film, archaeology, and contemporary art Jane and Louise Wilson offer a powerful reflection on ancient shrines, memory, and time.