Sensory Marvel: teamLab's Borderless Unveiled In Tokyo

EE News Desk Feb 07, 2024

The interactive digital art by Japanese collective teamLab, renowned for its popularity among tourists, has found a new residence in the tallest skyscraper in Tokyo.

As per a media report, opening on 9 February, 2024, the ‘teamLab Borderless’ permanent exhibition introduces fresh artworks, including a dynamic vortex of spotlights and a mirror room adorned with enchanting ‘wobbling’ orbs.

These additions join numerous other mesmerising displays within the labyrinthine exhibition space housed in the 330-meter Azabudai Hills building in central Tokyo—creating an immersive and Instagrammable experience for visitors.

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"Our goal is to touch people, and to prompt them to reflect on life and the world in a more positive way," Toshiyuki Inoko, Director of teamLab collective shared with AFP during a press preview. "Our work is the continuation of our past endeavours, but offers a whole new experience at the same time."

Guests at Azabudai Hills, the towering structure dominating central Tokyo since its inauguration last year, have the freedom to explore a collection of artworks seamlessly blending projection and sound.

Numerous displays transition between rooms, responding to visitors' actions—petals dispersing as they draw near, and fluid lights creating ripples at their feet. With over 50 artworks, the exhibition presents a fusion of natural and otherworldly themes, ranging from the unfolding of slow-blooming flowers to a spacious room filled with cables, from which digital light seemingly descends like rain.

Several exhibits featured in the former version of ‘teamLab Borderless’ at Tokyo Bay, operational from 2018 to 2022, are now on display.

Previously frequented by celebrities like Will Smith and Kim Kardashian, this museum secured the Guinness World Record for the highest attendance at a museum dedicated to a single art group, welcoming almost 2.2 million visitors in 2019.

Beyond captivating visual and auditory experiences, the installations in the new ‘teamLab Borderless’ engage additional senses, offering unique olfactory and gustatory delights. Guests can indulge in green tea and ice cream served beneath special table projections.

“Humans perceive the world with their body, but these days our perception of the world is often through the internet, or television", Inoko mentioned. "So, we wanted to create an experience that appealed to all senses.”

Positioned to capitalise on the recent surge in tourism to Japan, the exhibition comes amid a peak in visitor numbers, reaching a record monthly high in December.

Established in 2011, TeamLab operates another museum in Tokyo named ‘teamLab Planets’. Renowned for its immensely popular artworks, the collective has showcased its creations globally and maintains various permanent exhibitions in China.