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.

Even if individual elements are separated in space and time, when a structural order appears among them, the elements transcend space and time and form a single entity. Despite significant changes in shape or size on the surface, or even if all of the elements are replaced, the single existence will be maintained. This spatiotemporal existence is part of the whole, it appears from the whole, and is returned to it. It is a living universe - a biocosmos.
Sculptural existence is born in space. It takes form on the ground as a mass and rises from the ground. Existence is born in the air, transcending the very concept of mass, and continues to exist mid-air, maintained in place. The boundaries of these existences are ambiguous, and the glowing spheres that compose them are continuously changing. Even when people fully immerse themselves in this sculpture, its existence remains intact. If broken by people, it naturally restores itself. Even if people try to move or push this floating entity, they cannot do so. Physical human actions cannot move the sculpture. 
Rather than a solid object, this sculptural entity is created by the order of energy generated by the phenomena of a unique environment. Let us call this existence High 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.

This work is to be viewed while lying down or sitting, with the body relaxed.
Created for the Prayer exhibition, this work was shown in private from April 25th to May 31st, 2021, during the state of emergency declared due to COVID-19.Spatial Calligraphy continues to be written for eternity in an infinitely expanding space. The sound of the characters echoes from each position in the calligraphy, and the combined sounds create a continuous chant.