A dazzling and intriguing exploration of the use, as a medium, of mirrors and reflective surfaces in contemporary art worldwide.From the art of Cindy Sherman to Anish Kapoor, from Yayoi Kusama to Tracey Emin,MirrorMirrorpresents an intriguing and gloriously illustrated global survey of ‘reflective’ work by more than 150 artists across media, nationalities, genders and locations. The extraordinary range of works featured inMirrorMirrorinvites us to ponder and reflect upon the nature of reality and our place within the world.A fascination with mirrors and reflective surfaces is a common theme among artists of the past. Michael Petry’s thought-provoking introduction begins with Jan van Eyck’s celebratedArnolfini Portrait(1434), one of the first paintings to feature a significant mirror. Petry references key works by the great masters from Diego Velazquez’sThe Rokeby Venus, to Edouard Manets complex paintingA Bar at the Folies-Bergere(1882) and Claude Cahun’sReflected Image in Mirror, Checked Jacket(1928), a seminal photograph for those whose gaze is often upon themselves.Present-day practitioners are no less intrigued, revisiting historical concerns and approaches for contemporary circumstances, often working with modern technologies and materials, from stainless steel to vinyl and from polished obsidian to sunglass lenses. Petry presents Jeff Koons’sBalloonsculptures, Subodh Gupta’s stainless-steel life-sized trees and Not Vitals mirror architecture, and also documents works that use actual mirrors, including pieces by Gavin Turk and Alicja Kwade, and the large-scale, spectacular installations of Doug Aitken, Teresita Fernandez, Olafur Eliasson and Sarah Sze. Special consideration is given to selfies and the way in which the mobile phone now operates as a modern-day mirror to the self. In all these works, the concept of reflection, the notion of creating an alternative space or of opening up space within the frame of the viewers interaction with the artwork, have a root in the past.The multitude of artworks inMirrorMirror from monumental installations to the slightest selfie capture how mirrors appeal to more than just human vanity but are objects of magic, transformation and power.