ART CITIES:Beijing-teamLab

teamLab is an interdisciplinary group whose collaborative practice seeks to navigate the confluence of art, technology, design, and the natural world. Since its establishment in March 2001, the group has been at the cutting edge of the digital art industry, working to create a range of captivating works, exploring the idea of “Ultra Subjective Space”.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo teamLab Archive

To explore the idea of “Ultra Subjective Space”, teamLab starts with three dimensional computer models and uses mathematical techniques to create flattened perspectives which then form the basis for various animated experiences. In “Living Digital Forest and Future Park”, teamlab’s exhibition at Pace Gallery In Beijing, the group presents a selection of their works, transforming the gallery’s space to a digital garden with the interactive digital installation “Flower Forest: Lost, Immersed and Reborn” is a dark space. When people enter the room and stand still flowers blossom on the people and before long the flowers spread out below their feet. When those flowers come close to another person they spread in that direction and connect. When the viewer moves the flowers begin to wither, die and fade away. This work is in continuous change, neither a pre-recorded animation nor on loop, the work is rendered in real time by a computer program. The interaction between the viewer and the installation causes continuous change in the artwork, previous visual states can never be replicated, and will never reoccur. The works of the “Fleeting Flower”: “Sunflower Phoenix”, “Peony Peacock”, “Chrysanthemum Tiger”, and “Lotus Elephant” appear only where the homonym flowers bloom. In time, the flower petals scatter. When the flowers shed their petals the image of the elephant is fixed and the image itself scatters. “Crystal Universe” (2015) is an interactive Installation of Light Sculpture, The artwork uses an accumulation of light points to create a sculptural body, similar to the way distinct dots of color form an image in a pointillist painting, the particles of light are digitally controlled and change based on the viewer’s interactivity with the work. The result is an installation that consists of lights, forming a sculpture that expresses the universe. Viewers are invited to enter and walk around within the three-dimensional light space. This movement affects the light particles and creates changes in the installation. Viewers can also interact with the work by using their smartphones to select elements that make up the Crystal Universe. In “Crows are Chased and the Chasing Crows are Destined to be Chased as well, Blossoming on Collision – Light in Space” (2016)  viewers can walk around freely in a space that completely surrounds them with projections on all sides. A Japanese mythical bird, the Yatagarasu (three-legged crow), is rendered in light as it flies around the space, leaving trails of light in its path and creating spatial calligraphy. The crows chase one another and in turn become chased themselves. When the chased crows crash into one another, they scatter, turning into flowers. The crows are also aware of the viewers and attempt to fly around them, but when they crash into a viewer, they scatter, turning into flowers in the same way. “Universe of Water Particles – Gold” (2016) is a virtual waterfall created in a virtual 3-D space using teamLab’s concept of ultrasubjective space, a term that refers to the depiction of space found in premodern Japanese painting. In the background, of “Impermanent Life” (2017), cherry blossoms bloom and scatter, the cycle of life repeats. From the center of the background a circle is born which increases in size with a constant rhythm. Depending on the circle the light and darkness of the background world changes. “Enso” (2017) is the Zen practice of drawing a circle with a single brush stroke. This artwork depicts an Enso drawn as Spatial Calligraphy. The brush stroke is suspended in space but the viewpoint changes to reveal the circle Enso. teamLab has been working on Spatial Calligraphy since the collective formed. A new interpretation of traditional calligraphy, Spatial Calligraphy reconstructs calligraphy in three-dimensional space and expresses the depth, speed and power of the brush stroke.

Info:    Pace Gallery, 798 Art District, No. 2, Jiuxianqiao Road, Chaoyang District Beijing, Duration: 20/5-10/10/17, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 10:00-18:00, www.pacegallery.com