teamlab projects a maze of dancing japanese holograms

teamlab projects a maze of dancing japanese holograms
all images courtesy of teamlab

a seemingly boundless and complex maze of colored holograms fill the darkened gallery walls at the singapore art museum for the interactive digital installation by teamlab. saturating the massive space are row upon row of life-sized, three-dimensional figures in perpetual motion — dancing wildly in place and playing various instruments. ‘peace can be realized even without order’ presents the ghostly, anthropomorphic characters dressed in traditional japanese garments, standing in line beside hybrid animals and imagined creatures. as the shadowy, semi-transparent digital forms maneuver in place, visitors to the exhibition are asked to weave around them, investigate their eerie translucence, and visually interact with each evolving silhouette. as an observer enters the installation — and the light-based humanoid senses the presence of the viewer — it responds by ceasing to play music and passes on this information to others close by, whose reaction ripples around the room. after a short period of time, the figures will start drumming, playing their instruments and sway again, and the dancers will begin to form back into one harmonious group, returning them to a unified course. the project is currently featured at the singapore biennale 2013.

in japan, an annual ancient event called the awa dance festival sees groups of people play music and dance around the town. choreographed groups who meet other gatherings of dancers at random gradually and unconsciously match the tempo of their music with that other assembly. ‘it seems that people are set free from their inhibitions, and an extraordinary peaceful feeling prevails despite the lack of any order to the dances. perhaps this is how people of ancient times maintained a feeling of peacefulness.’ in relationship to the installation, and its relevance in contemporary society, teamlab says, ‘today, in the internet age, the speed at which people can connect with other people has accelerated. as a result people throughout the world have become increasingly connected, and the influence of connections to other people has become more important. what we experience in this new age can be considered similar to the experience of the dance festival, and perhaps in these unordered connections there is a way to find peace.’

row upon row of hologram line the space

teamlab’s installation features both human and animal characters dancing in place

figures dance and play instruments in the space

detail of the facial likeness of a few of the characters

figures dance in place

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