The Japanese digital art team teamLab will bring a new visual feast of light and shadow to the audience starting from February 1st this year. However, this time the experience will move from indoors to outdoors, located in Ibaraki, one of Japan’s famous gardens with a history of 180 years, “Kairakuen”. With the backdrop of over 3,000 plum trees in the garden, the team has created an immersive light experience that blends nature and art, “teamLab Kairakuen Light Festival”!
This experience consists of 8 independent pieces of art, each transforming the natural landscape of the park into art, allowing everyone to feel the subtle interaction between humans and nature in the beautiful light and shadow.
Night falls, and these glowing egg-shaped objects in the garden will emit light along with the trees. When the glowing egg-shaped objects are pushed over by people or blown down by the wind, they will stand back up like a Weeble, changing the color of light and emitting a unique sound. The light will also spread to the surrounding egg-shaped objects and trees, causing them to emit the same sound, echoing and spreading out. When the light extends from the depths of the trees, it indicates that someone else is there.
This work showcases multiple anonymous figures walking along the bamboo forest in Xie Le Yuan. The characters in this work are constantly walking endlessly. The audience will also chase after the characters in the world of the work, gradually forming a confrontational situation with them. The work is continuously depicted in real time through computer programs, rather than projecting pre-made images. Therefore, the images in the work will continue to change, making each moment unique.
The Mito Plum Blossom Festival has a history of 120 years. Together with the Ryokuen Park, there are about a hundred varieties and 3,000 plum trees planted. In the plum tree forest in front of the Koubuntei, approximately 1,500 plum trees are shining brightly. When people pass by nearby, the light emitted by the plum trees becomes stronger and produces a sound. The light from this tree will spread out in a radial pattern to the surrounding plum trees, and the sound will also spread, creating a symphony-like effect.
On the giant tree with a tree age of 800 years, the flowers always repeat the process of blooming and withering. This work will showcase the blooming and falling life changes of the flowers in this region in one hour through light and shadow.
In the garden in front of the Good Pavilion in Xieyuan, a “world of yang” is formed, contrasting with the dense and dark “world of yin” formed by the mountain white bamboo, large cedar forest, and Mengzong bamboo forest. After standing in the artwork space for a while, new lines will emerge and spread. Through this work, the forest becomes an abstract flat image.
Among these azaleas, the Kirishima azalea, which has been planted since the Edo period and has a tree age of about 300 years, is now designated as a species on the brink of extinction and is also rarely seen nationwide. Keirakuen opened in the late Edo period, so at that time, azaleas with a tree age of 80 years were planted. In the light and shadow, the pine trees and Kirishima azaleas emit a dazzling light.
In the late Edo period, the large cedar forest in Kyū-Rakuen, which was built, undergoes changes day and night in an almost imperceptibly slow passage of time, accumulating years of ancient history, and forming its present appearance. Light and shadow are cast on the tree trunks, showcasing the cycle of life and death in plants.
This work adds light and shadow to Togyokusen, presenting it as a “circle” like a Zen painting. This stroke drawn in space remains still at first, but as the viewpoint shifts, the circular shape gradually emerges, allowing the audience to see the continuous transformation of calligraphy between two and three dimensions.
Although audiences from afar were unable to personally attend this magnificent light and shadow festival, everyone can still enjoy this ancient and elegant light show through the official videos released!
Learn more and image source: teamLab
