industrial robots
Cranking out widgets in search of meaning...

Mori Building Digital Art Museum 2018

We were lucky enough to get tickets to the teamLab Borderless exhibition, an interactive projection and lighting experience.

sign with teamlab logo, Mori Building Digital Art Museum, and epson teamlab borderless tokyo

teamLab (f. 2001) is an art collective, interdisciplinary group of ultratechnologists whose collaborative practice seeks to navigate the confluence of art, science, technology, design and the natural world. Various specialists such as artists, programmers, engineers, CG animators, mathematicians and architects form teamLab.

teamLab aims to explore a new relationship between humans and nature, and between oneself and the world through art. Digital technology has allowed art to liberate itself from the physical and transcend boundaries. teamLab sees no boundary between humans and nature, and between oneself and the world; one is in the other and the other in one. Everything exists in a long, fragile yet miraculous, borderless continuity of life.

There were multiple rooms set up with projections of flowers or other natural scenes on the walls, floor, and ceiling.

flowers projected in a dark room with ribbons of green lightpeople view a multicoloured tree projected on a wall

Mirrors and black curtains created obstacles and secret passages to be discovered and navigated.

floral room with gaps in the projection made by pathwayschris and earl view photos on a phone with the room reflected in mirros behind them

In the “Butterfly House”, touching the projected insects would cause them to fly away and migrate to the other rooms ofthe installation.

butterfly house entrancea large group of animated butterfiles projected on a black wall

Some of the rooms had other interactive projections that triggered a variety of animations. Chris touched a kanji character, making it spawn some butterflies.

chris reclining on a raised section with a projection of water on itchris touches a japanese character on a wall

There was also a mirrored room filled with strings of lights and music, creating a unique, surreal space.

chris and earl look down at the camera the mirrored ceiling above them reflecting white lights into infinityearl and chris felected in the mirrored floor. White lights seem to lead down forever

The “Light Sculpture Space” was another effective use of lighting to create a different atmosphere.

people reflected in a mirrored floor with blue and magenta light beamsa grid of light fixtures sends pink and blue beams into a dark room. The lighting grid is partially lit with green and yellow light.

An interactive trampoline floor and a room filled with illuminated “balloons” were whimsical and playful additions to the experience.

kids jump on a trampoline floor with planets projected on itchris and earl reflected in a mirror in a room full of giant balloons