teamLab Planets TOKYO is famous for its ultra-immersive art installations that aim to blur the lines between viewers, art, technology, and the world. Tourists and locals alike flock to the museum to awe at the five indoor spaces and outdoor garden, filled with art that makes use of living flora, state-of-the-art projection technology, and a majestic use of mirrors, space and lights.
This March and April, teamLab Planets TOKYO is unveiling a special adaptation of two of its installations, ‘Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People - Infinity’ and ‘Floating in the Falling Universe of Flowers’, to suit the upcoming spring season.
Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People - Infinity
At this installation, koi–colored varieties of the carp fish that are symbolic in Japanese culture–are projected onto the surface of water in a wide, square room. As visitors slowly walk through the warm water, they collide with the koi, dissolving the fish into seasonal blooms. This spring, visitors will be able to see a large scattering of white, pink and purple cherry blossoms trailing behind every visitor, as koi fish happily swim in every direction.
As the projection and art is rendered in real time, each visitors’ presence directly influences the state of the projections. At no point in time will the installation ever remain the same nor replicate the artwork from a previous time.
Floating in the Falling Universe of Flowers
Stepping into this dome-shaped room, visitors will be greeted by a projection of endlessly floating seasonal blooms. With the colorful flowers reflecting off the mirror-covered floors, visitors will truly feel as if they are stepping into a snowglobe of flora of all colors, shapes, and forms. The projection cycles through all of nature’s seasons throughout the year. Flowers specific to only one season grow, bud, bloom, and in time, wither and scatter, but the next season’s flowers slowly manifest to replace them.
This spring, a special projection of budding and fully-bloomed cherry blossoms have been added into this exhibition. Patience at this installation will reward visitors with slowly-blooming sakura that gradually onslaught visitors in a flurry of white, pink and purple.
Conclusion
Nestled away in the Tokyo Bay area, teamLab Planets TOKYO offers visitors a mesmerizing escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. The fully barefoot experience encourages visitors not just to view the artworks but experience them through all five senses. If you’re in Tokyo in March and April, you won’t want to miss this captivating reinterpretation of Japan’s iconic cherry blossom season.
