Crows are Chased and the Chasing Crows are Destined to be Chased as well, Blossoming on Collision - Light in Space

teamLab, 2016, Interactive Digital Installation, 4min 20sec, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Crows are Chased and the Chasing Crows are Destined to be Chased as well, Blossoming on Collision - Light in Space

teamLab, 2016, Interactive Digital Installation, 4min 20sec, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

This is an interactive digital installation in which viewers can walk around freely in a space that completely surrounds them with projections on all sides.


A Japanese mythical bird, the Yatagarasu (three-legged crow), is rendered in light as it flies around the space, leaving trails of light in its path and creating spatial calligraphy. The crows chase one another and in turn become chased themselves. When the chased crows crash into one another, they scatter, turning into flowers.


The crows are also aware of the viewers and attempt to fly around them, but when they crash into a viewer, they scatter, turning into flowers in the same way.


The artwork’s center is gradually aligned to the position of the viewers standing in the installation. If all viewers gather in one place, the border between the walls and floor dissolves, the real physical space disappears, and the viewers become immersed in the artwork. The lines that the crows trace then appears to be drawn three-dimensionally within the space, and the boundary between the bodies of the viewers and the work disappears.


The installation is rendered in real time by a computer program, it is neither a prerecorded animation nor on loop. The positions of the viewers, their interactions, and their behavior in the installation cause continuous change in the artwork.