Niki de Saint Phalle's Tarot Garden

Temperance This was perhaps my favourite space in the Garden. Although enclosed in a dome (which reminded me of Victorian ice houses, or Suomi buildings in arctic Sweden), the thousands of mirror pieces inside made it appear much larger than on the outside. As people walked in, their reflections leapt to span the ceiling and danced around above them. The theme of this tarot card is moderation and synergy. Compromise can feel like a constraint, but it can also bring the greater freedom which comes with reaching an understanding. The angel of temperance stands on the top of the dome, and inside is a shrine with a black madonna. The photo at the lower right is of Jean Tinguely, who died in 1991.

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