Expo Milano 2015 | teamLab

Japan, as a country surrounded by mountains and the sea, undergoes many changes with the passing of the four seasons. Rivers go through great changes in terms of the volume of water that passes through them, from the melting snow in the spring to the rainy season and typhoon season. Also, the distance between the mountains and the coast is very short, with very few plains along the way, causing many short, fast-flowing streams to form throughout the islands. This art installation uses waterfalls to represent water, a symbol that is at the heart of Japan’s food culture. The artwork seeks to convey large volumes of information related to the great diversity found in Japanese cuisine. In order to achieve this, it shows a gigantic columnar waterfall that can be viewed from 360 degrees, displaying many images of food. Visitors can touch the images that flow down the waterfall and transfer the image, with some detailed information, onto their smartphones. They can then take the information home with them. This art installation tackles the challenge of facilitating people’s sharing of emotions and experiences, while offering the convenience of providing large amounts of information. teamLab achieves this by creating a symbolic waterfall that allows many visitors to share the same experience within the same space, and by giving them the ability to link this experience with their own smartphones.