Flutter of Butterflies Beyond Borders, Ephemeral Life

teamLab, 2018, Interactive Digital Installation, Endless

Flutter of Butterflies Beyond Borders, Ephemeral Life

teamLab, 2018, Interactive Digital Installation, Endless

When no one is in the space, it is completely dark and nothing exists. When people enter the space and stand still, butterflies are born at their feet, or from their hands held against the wall. When people touch the butterflies, they die.

The butterflies fly freely, crossing the borders into the monitors and even out of their rooms. These butterflies liberate the artwork from the notion of frames, blurring the boundaries between the works as they fly seamlessly through the spaces, and are in turn, influenced by other artworks.

The butterflies in this exhibition are all created solely by the presence of people. If people destroy more butterflies than they create, this artwork will cease to exist.

The artwork is not a pre-recorded image that is played back; it is created by a computer program that continuously renders the work in real time. The interaction between people and the installation causes continuous change in the artwork, so previous visual states can never be replicated, and will never reoccur. The picture at this moment can never be seen again.