A grand light show will be held in Tokyo. When art collective TeamLab opened its Tokyo flagship, TeamLab Borderless, in 2018, it aimed to fundamentally change the way we perceive and think about contemporary art.
Whether it achieved those ambitions is a subjective matter, but it's hard to argue with Borderless' commercial success before its closure in 2022. In its first year, the site welcomed 2.3 million visitors, making it the most visited museum in the world dedicated to a single artist, group, or collective at that time.
The group's second space in Tokyo, TeamLab Planets, is not far behind. Google has named it the fifth most popular museum in the world in 2023. A team of self-proclaimed “ultra-technologists,” which includes artists, programmers, engineers, computer graphics specialists, animators, botanists, mathematicians, and architects have also exhibited their work with great success in cities such as Beijing, Melbourne, New York, London, Singapore, and Taipei.
So, the considerable buzz surrounding Borderless' grand return, which reopens this week in a new upscale high-rise building in Tokyo's Azabudai district, is not surprising. Visitors will experience the familiar attributes of projection graphics, dynamic light shows, and interconnected works of art that react to each other and change in accordance with the viewer's position and behavior.
“Immersive” and “digital” are two words commonly used in order to describe TeamLab exhibitions.
Takashi Kudo, TeamLab's director of public relations, embodies the group's philosophical approach. "Twenty years ago, no one called us artists... People want answers, but the purpose of art is to keep asking more questions," he told CNN. “We want to think and create a society that will exist, not have a society. But how can you create a society in which people don’t want anything?”
“These lights are like nature,” he added, pointing to the glowing orbs around him. “Sometimes when you're out in nature there are stimuli everywhere, almost too much, then everything comes together in perfect harmony. This experience is what we want to create. But it's all about the process. That's what makes it art."
This particular bubble universe room is technically one of several separate rooms in the museum. But while the psychedelic titles attached to each piece of art are memorable—Microcosmos or Infinite Crystal World, for example—it's easy to get lost when traveling between them. There is no prescribed route or technique for experiencing them. This is a museum without a map. In a word, there are “no boundaries” here.
Wandering around Borderless is more akin to “shinrin-yoku,” the Japanese art of forest bathing in which you allow your body to react to the environment in a way that subconsciously guides your movements. And there is something to react to. One minute it's projection-mapped flower bouquets that bloom when you touch them, or hordes of colorful butterflies appearing out of thin air when you lean against a wall.
Soon you'll be chasing ghostly crows from one room to another or following a cavalcade of digital divers marching to the beat of their own drum. Water patterns swirl around your feet and then reappear an hour or two later as crashing waves somewhere else. Works of art also interact with each other, meaning that each day and each individual experience is completely unique. It is a series of “ichi-go ichi-e” (literally, “for this time only”) moments—those that can never be repeated.
The museum strives to engage all five of your senses. Along with interactive visuals, aromatic scents and soothing soundscapes permeate each room. There is also a tea house that serves delicious layered yuzu green tea and green tea ice cream that emits light when placed on the table.
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