Photo: White, “Bubble Universe: Physical Light, Bubbles of Light, Wobbling Light, and Environmental Light,” 2023, © teamLab
Walking into one of teamLab‘s exhibitions is like entering another world. The international art collective recently unveiled three new installations, all of which explore the mesmerizing effects of light and color. Titled Bubble Universe: Physical Light, Bubbles of Light, Wobbling light, and Environmental Light; Flowers and People – Megalith Crystal Formation; and Black Waves – Megalith Crystal Formation, these seemingly boundless artworks are hosted at the teamLab Borderless museum in Azabudai Hills, Tokyo, Japan.
Bubble Universe takes place in a room with hundreds of glowing spheres. Each of these orbs contains unique changing lights which interact with guests and the environment itself, making for an interactive and dynamic exhibit. “When a person stops and stands still near a sphere, the nearest sphere shines brightly and resonates a tone, and the light spreads from that sphere to its nearest sphere,” teamLab explains in a statement. “The light from that sphere continues to spread only to the nearest sphere, passing through each sphere only once and becoming a single trajectory of light. The light born from an individual person and the light born from others intersect.”
While these spheres seem to go on forever due to the mirrored walls, and seemingly with no organizational pattern, their arrangement is actually mathematically determined. “When drawing a line between spheres that are closest to each other, the distribution in height, direction of the sphere, and the smoothness of the three-dimensional trajectory create a unicursal line with the same starting and ending point,” teamLab says. As a result, a person’s presence will trigger light in the sphere only once before moving onto the next sphere, expressing the continuity of light.
Megalith Crystal Formation is a work in progress which also features interactive displays. When visitors enter the Flowers and People version, a computer program will produce images of growing flowers, simulating their life cycle from beginning to end. The pace at which guests tour the space will also effect the images, as standing still will cause blooms to grow more abundantly. On the other hand, Black Waves takes inspiration from East Asian art’s relationship with waves. Here, the computer program creates images of never-ending waves that ebb and flow continuously like the real ocean.
These installations will open at teamLab Borderless in February 2024. To learn more about this otherworldly art experience, visit teamLab’s website.
International art collective teamLab’s latest three installations explore the mesmerizing effects of lights.
Photo: 29 colors, “Bubble Universe: Physical Light, Bubbles of Light, Wobbling Light, and Environmental Light,” 2023, © teamLab
Photo: Bubbles of Light, “Bubble Universe: Physical Light, Bubbles of Light, Wobbling Light, and Environmental Light,” 2023, © teamLab
The installation titled Bubble Universe: Physical Light, Bubbles of Light, Wobbling Light, and Environmental Light features countless glowing orbs.
Photo: Wobbling Light, “Bubble Universe: Physical Light, Bubbles of Light, Wobbling Light, and Environmental Light,” 2023, © teamLab
These orbs react to a visitor’s presence by emanating a light.
Photo: Environmental Light, “Bubble Universe: Physical Light, Bubbles of Light, Wobbling Light, and Environmental Light,” 2023, © teamLab
Photo: “Bubble Universe: Physical Light, Bubbles of Light, Wobbling Light, and Environmental Light,” 2023, © teamLab
Photo: Fire, “Bubble Universe: Physical Light, Bubbles of Light, Wobbling Light, and Environmental Light,” 2023, © teamLab
Megalith Crystal Formation has two variations (Flowers and People and Black Waves) and features dramatic planes of color.
Photo: “Flowers and People – Megalith Crystal Formation,” 2023, © teamLab
Black Waves uses a computer program to produce endless waves that ebb and flow continuously.
Photo: “Black Waves – Megalith Crystal Formation,” 2023, © teamLab