Forest and Spiral of Resonating Lamps: One Stroke - Autumn Mountain

teamLab, 2018, from the series Forest of Resonating Lamps: One Stroke, 2016-, Interactive Installation, Endless, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi, Production Support: Hirohito Saito (OryZa Design), Shinya Yoshida (SYD INC.)

Forest and Spiral of Resonating Lamps: One Stroke - Autumn Mountain

Before the modern era in Japan, complex colors born from the characteristics of silk were given descriptive names evocative of the four seasons. Such colors were called Kasane no Irome (nuances of layered colors), and were created by the combination of the lining and exterior fabric (silk was thin at the time so the color of the lining showed through the exterior fabric), gradations from overlapping colors, and blending of warp and weft.

This is an artwork about the continuity of light, which is generated as people move around freely and interact with the lamps.

When a person stands still, the lamp closest to them shines brightly, and its light continues on to the next nearest lamp. It also intersects with light born from other people.

The seemingly random arrangement of lamps in the space is mathematically derived such that, starting from any lamp, a line continuously drawn to the nearest lamp results in a single, connected path of light that passes through every lamp exactly once, like a unicursal stroke.

The light from a lamp that responds to a person always connects to its nearest neighbor, passing through every lamp once as the light propagates to all lamps in the space.

This is a work that explores the beauty of continuity itself, found in the continuous light that is born from the presence of people.