teamLab Biovortex Kyoto | teamLab

The only material substances present in this space are ordinary soap, water, and air. The bubbles are soap bubbles.
This floating, immense sculpture emerges from a sea of bubbles, transcending the very concept of mass. It neither sinks to the ground nor rises completely to the ceiling, but instead drifts in the middle of the space. The contours of its existence are ambiguous—it fragments into smaller pieces, but merges into a larger mass. Even when people fully immerse themselves in this sculpture, its existence remains intact. If broken by people, it naturally restores itself. However, when the sculpture is destroyed beyond what it can repair, it collapses, unable to recover. Even if people try to move or push this floating sculpture, they cannot do so, and if they stir up wind, the sculpture disperses entirely. Physical human actions cannot move the sculpture.
Objects such as stones and man-made creations maintain a stable structure on their own. A stone will continue to exist even if placed in a sealed box, isolated from the external world.On the other hand, a vortex created in the ocean disappears instantly when transferred into an enclosed box. In other words, a vortex does not maintain a stable structure independently. A vortex exists within the flow created by its environment formed by water continuously from the outside to the inside and from the inside to the outside, maintained by the vortex’s ordered structure. This flow allows the vortex to shift as the surrounding currents change. Moreover, its boundaries are ambiguous, and there is no material distinction between the vortex and its surroundings.
Rather than a solid object, this sculpture is created by the order of energy generated by the phenomena of a unique environment.  Let us call this existence created by the order of energy, a "Higher Order Sculpture." The artwork is inseparable from the environment and changes along with the environment. It transcends the conventional notions of physical objects—it sustains its existence mid-air, having ambiguous boundaries, and it is able to maintain its shape even when people immerse themselves physically into the sculpture, naturally restoring itself even if the sculpture breaks.
By filling the space with soap bubbles, a distinct environment is created in which an order of energy is born. By doing so, a massive form emerges from this sea of bubbles that floats steadily in mid-air.
In modern biology, the definition of life cannot be strictly defined, but everything that is structured upon cells, capable of metabolism, and self-reproduction are labeled living things for convenience. In other words, all living things are composed of cells. All cells are enclosed by a cell membrane constructed of a lipid bilayer, with the hydrophilic part facing outward and the hydrophobic part covered within the layers. Both the inside and outside of the enveloping membrane are liquid. Soap bubbles are similarly enveloped by lipid bilayer membranes, and these membranes are structurally identical to cell membranes. However, contrary to cells, the bilayer of the bubble membrane floats in and encloses air, so the hydrophobic part faces outward, while the hydrophilic part is covered within the layers. In other words, if we consider cells to be pouch-shaped membranes in liquid, then bubbles are pouch-shaped membranes in air. This sculpture is created from substances composed in the same ways as cells, the structuring units of life-forms, and the order of energy created from this environment.
The same is true of life. It consumes external matter and energy as food and discharges it, sustaining its ordered structure as the energy dissipates. Life exists within the flow of matter and energy, and its contour, like a vortex, is ambiguous.Perhaps, life is a miraculous phenomenon that emerges in the flow of matter and energy, and its structure is the order of energy created by that flow.

Countless spheres of light and spheres of darkness.
Each sphere of light can be clearly perceived in the space as a mass seemingly made of solidified light, however, there is no material surface boundary. The perception of the boundary between the artwork and your body is ambiguous.When you broaden your vision, purple-blue spheres made of darkness also begin to appear, as though darkness has been solidified.
If you try to touch a sphere of light, the sphere shines brightly and the surrounding spheres respond one after the other.Light does not solidify, and masses made entirely of light do not exist in the universe. In other words, these spheres of light only exist in your perception.The artwork cannot exist on its own - its existence is a phenomenon created by its environment.The work questions the notion of existence and what it means.

The movement of hundreds of thousands of birds is beautiful and mysterious, like a single, giant life form.
Even if each individual element is separated in space and time, when there is order among them, the individual elements may be recognized as a single entity that transcends space and time. Despite significant changes in shape or size on the surface, or even if the elements are replaced, this single existence will be maintained, and be recognized as the same entity. This spatiotemporal existence differs from physical matter, and will open up new possibilities of existence. This artwork portrays this spatiotemporal existence.

看似是一件灯具被随机配置的作品，其实是在鉴赏者与他人的关系性影响下，不断延续的光之作品，同时也是一件表现了“连续”其本身之美的作品。
当人驻足在灯具附近时，距离最近的灯具会强烈发光并响起音色，光会从该灯具传播到最靠近的下一个灯具。被传播的光会接连传播到距离最近的灯具并延续下去。光，仅仅是持续传播到最近的灯具，它会经过每一盏灯具一次，最终形成一条穿过所有灯具的光之轨迹。然后，由自己产生的光，会与由他人产生的光交错。
看似随机的灯具配置，是为了让因人们的存在而产生的光能够持续延续的配置，也是为了“连续”其本身之美的配置。
具体来说，我们通过数学方式寻求一种空间上的灯具配置，使得当从每个灯具向三维空间上距离最近的灯具画线时，能形成一条起点和终点相同、可以一笔画成的连续线条（unicursal），并让这条成为光之轨迹的线呈现出美感。 其结果是，与人呼应的灯光，尽管仅仅是传播到最近的灯具，却能像一笔画一样，必定只通过一次，并穿过所有的灯具。然后与同一时期他人产生的光交错。这是一件人们在自由的场所与灯具互动而产生的光之连续性的作品。