Best known for her work featuring white-clad cybergeishas and other Manga-influenced characters, Moriko Mori has long made art characterized by a sci-fi sensibility that seems ineluctably linked to the city and the future. It is therefore something of a surprise to learn that her latest project focuses on uniting technology with ancient forces to create a harmonious, primal work on an island far from civilization.

In what may be her most ambitious undertaking yet, Mori — who previously showed a pod-like sculptural environment, Wave UFO, at the 2005 Venice Biennale — plans to build a solar monument on Miyako Island, located 180 miles off the coast of the Japanese island of Okinawa. The piece, titled Primal Rhythm, will place a towering column and a glowing sphere on separate rock mounds in the island’s bay.

During the annual Winter Solstice, the sun will shine directly in line with the two sculptures — respectively dubbed the Sun Pillar and the Moon Rock — casting a shadow from the pillar to the orb. Tourists who visit the island during the other 364 days of the year will not be disappointed, however: the Moon Rock will be programmed to change color with the rise and fall of the local tides.

Though no definite timetable has been set for the project, Mori visited Okinawa in July of last year to bless it with a ceremonial performance witnessed by friends, local residents, and patrons. Mori has been familiar with the area for some time, having spent summers on the Pacific island since 2003.

In an a statement, Mori said, “I believe that people will reconnect with the rhythm of the sun, the moon, and the sea while experiencing this work and become one with the universe of the mind that exists inside every human being."