Digital art and design collective teamLab will soon transform an iconic Japanese landmark. The creative firm has recently released images of the new Kairakuen Garden installation which seeks to show guests how “nature can become art.” By using their signature projection techniques, teamLab demonstrates that art can interact with the outside world in a minimally invasive way. They are doing so by projecting artwork on to the 3,000 plum blossom trees for which the garden is known.
Kairakuen Garden is an extremely significant Japanese Garden. In fact, it is considered one of the “three great gardens of Japan” which also includes Kenrokuen Garden in Kanazawa and Korakuen Garden in Okayama. Each is designed using kaiyū organizational logic of the Edo period. This centralized style includes a pond at the heart of the garden with paths designed around the water feature to create a “promenade” or strolling garden.
The interactive nature of teamLab’s installation at the garden means that the artwork will only further enhance the strolling experience. The exhibit also highlights the iconic plum trees found there, as the springtime installation period means many of the 100 species of plum blossom trees will be in full bloom. This is especially relevant as time plays such an important conceptual role in the installation. “The form and shapes of nature have been created over many years and have been molded by the interactions between people and nature. We can perceive this long duration of time in these shapes of nature themselves. By using the shapes, we believe we can explore the boundary in our perception of the long continuity of time.”
Visitors can see the teamLab: Digitized Kairakuen Garden installation in Mito, Ibaraki from February 13, 2021, through March 21, 2021.
TeamLab's Digitized Kairakuen Garden installation seeks to explore how “nature can become art.”
The kaiyū style garden is designed for strolling, which makes it a perfect site for teamLab's moving interactive digital installation.
