teamLab

Art collective teamLab seeks to navigate the confluence of art, science, technology, and the natural world through art. In form, it incorporates elements of fine art, technology, immersive spectacle, and natural imagery. More importantly to the collective, however, it aims to explore the relationship between the self and the world as well as new forms of perception. In Flowers and People - A Whole Year per Hour, vibrant blossoms erupt and scatter across multiple screens. Resembling illuminated paper cutouts, the flowers grow and dissolve according to programming that continuously renders the imagery in response to real-time actions of visitors. As people stand still by the work, flowers bloom abundantly in front of them; when they move away, the petals scatter and disappear. Flowers and People transforms through visitor presence, speaking to the fundamental effects of human action on nature. In this case, humans are the catalyst for beauty and growth, and their absence creates a void, aligning with teamLab’s goal to “create an experience where the relationship between the world and oneself is borderless and continuous.”¹

The movement of Flowers and People become more dramatic as more people interact with it, encouraging affiliation with the actions of other viewers. Through an artwork that is influenced not just by onself but other people as well, and if the changes other people create are felt as beautiful or create a sense of awe, teamLab hopes that visitors may begin to think of the presence of other people as beautiful, rather than a hindrance to one’s own experience.² Recent scientific and psychological studies of awe suggest that this could be correct: people who report feelings of awe, wonder, or transcendence were recorded as behaving more generously, being more curious, and wanting to connect more with others afterward.³ It is fitting that both nouns in the title of the work are plural: much like life itself, Flowers and People is meant to be a shared event.

Kit Bernal