Budding in the shadow of Teamlab in London

Published 6 March 2017 by Elsa Ferreira

The exhibition is brief. Three rooms, height projects. “Transcending Boundaries” from the Japanese collective Teamlab, until March 11 in London, enacts the immersion in an artificial nature, more beautiful than true.

London, from our correspondent

This isn’t the first time that Teamlab, collective of Japanese multimedia artists founded in Tokyo in 2001, delights us with its digital and poetic installations. After DMM Planet Arts, presented in August 2016 at the festival “A World of Wonders!” in Tokyo Bay, here is Transcending Boundaries, immersive exhibition at the London Pace Gallery.

teamLab: Transcending Boundaries Jan 25 – Mar 11, 2017 PACE LONDON @pacegallery #London #UK #teamLab #digitalart #interactive #butterfly #flowers #universe #waves #particles

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In the first room, Universe of Water Particles (2017) is a monumental virtual waterfall that stretches under our feet and opens up around our footsteps. Are overlaid Flowers and People (2017), a carpet of flowers that bud and change color according to the season (here, one hour is one year), and Flutter of Butterflies Beyond Borders (2016), explosion of digital butterflies with changing looks. The art work is never the same, clarify the artists, and functions neither by pre-programming nor by loops. Each interaction by the public prompts a unique modification.

Universe of Water particles, Transcending Boundaries (2017) and Dark Waves (2016) @teamlab_news's amazing exhibition Transcending Boundaries exhibition at @pacegallery which explores the role of digital technology in transcending the physical and conceptual boundaries that exist between different artworks. The installations dissolve frames and distinctions between the artworks and the gallery space through inviting the viewer to interact and be part of the artwork, the exhibition, and the space (and the only thing I would say is the resolution of the larger pieces could be slightly better…)

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On the wall, Impermanent Life (2017), digital canvas that looks like a world map made from ancient fabrics, noticeably varies. Hypnotic.

Impermanent Life (2017), de Teamlab, à la galerie Pace.

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Ooooooh #pacegallery #teamlab

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The second room is the soberest. In the dark area, a single installation entitled Dark Waves (2016): screens you take for an aquarium. Rather than fish, it’s a miniature and raging sea that is on show.

Dark Waves (2016), de Teamlab, à la galerie Pace, à Londres.

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Finally, Flowers Bloom On People (2017), finishes to give this exhibition the impression that Teamlab is inventing a new form of nature, pushing the boundaries between the physical world and the world of pixels. White blankets are distributed at the entrance of the somber room. We are told to wait: the flowering process can take a little time. All wrapped up, we find out we’re starting to bud!

“Transcending Boundaries”, from the collective Teamlab at the London Pace Gallery until March 11, 6 Burlington Gardens, W1S 3ET, Londres

On March 12, Noriko Taniguchi from Teamlab will join Mark Davy, founder of the Futurecity agency, for a Tedx conference, Somerset House, WC2R ORN, Londres

Teamlab also presents at the Singapore Artscience Museum the permanent exhibition “Future World, Where Art meet Science”