Curator, Christophe Cherix: In 1966, Ono went to London and was invited to show her work at John Dunbar’s Indica Gallery. John Lennon visited before the opening.
Yoko Ono: And I was a little bit furious because, I didn't understand why. I told John Dunbar never to bring anybody until it's all ready. I said, "Okay. Maybe he's a very close friend or something, so I shouldn't say anything." So I thought: "Well, maybe I should follow them and see what they're doing."
Narrator: John Lennon was intrigued by the ladder you see in this space.
Yoko Ono: He went up the stairs, and there's a kind of magnifying glass that's dangling from it, you know? And he took that and he looked at this – I just wrote YES in the center – a very small YES. And, he just looked at it.
There’s a piece called “Forget It.” And it's just a needle – a long needle. And once I give the instruction "Forget it," you can never forget it. It's a very magical and mysterious thing to give instructions.
Narrator: The white chess set nearby was also in the show.
Yoko Ono: What happens is in the beginning it's all right, when you're winning; but when you're losing they start to say, "Oh, isn't that mine?" … "No, no. That's mine," you know, and trying to sort of con each other.
Narrator: There’s a replica of White Chess Set in MoMA’s Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden.
Yoko Ono: And you can play on it. It's a very interesting game because it starts to tickle you a little, you know? The result is fun and laughter, not serious at all – and that's how life is, you know?
