A Musical Wall where Little People Live

teamLab, 2017-, Interactive Digital Installation, Sound: teamLab

A Musical Wall where Little People Live

teamLab, 2017-, Interactive Digital Installation, Sound: teamLab

Little people live on a wall that plays sounds.


The little people run around inside the world of the wall, oblivious to us. 

However, when variously-shaped stamps, like mushrooms, barns, or long sticks of ice are attached to the wall, they appear in the world of the little people. The little people notice these and jump on.

Depending on the type of stamp, the little people will slide, jump, or climb on. If the stamp is removed, the stamp in the world of the little people will remain for a moment longer before disappearing.

Attach various types of stamps to the wall, and the little people will play with delight.


Smiley face seeds come falling down from above. When the seeds hit the stamps, different tones are played, depending on the type of stamp that they hit. And depending on the height of the stamp on the wall, the tones will change in pitch.

The wall will begin to play music using the various stamps.

Background of Artwork

The Three Laws of Mechanics

The movement of things in this world can be explained based upon three laws.

  • The law of inertia

    As long as a separate external force is not exerted upon something, it will remain as it is.

  • For example, if you are on a stationary train and it suddenly starts to move, you try to remain stationary, so you are pulled backwards in relation to the direction in which the train is moving. If a moving train stops suddenly, you try to keep moving in the direction in which the train was moving, so you are pulled in the direction in which the train was moving.

  • The law of motion

    When a separate external force is exerted upon something, it starts to move in the direction of that new force. The amount of movement changes depending on the strength of the force applied and the weight of the thing. For example, strong force is necessary to push and try to move something heavy. If you try to bounce a heavy ball and a light ball, the light ball will bounce back more quickly even with the same amount of force.

  • The law of action and reaction

    When force is exerted upon something, the same amount of force is always returned in the opposite direction. For example, if you push a wall, the same amount of force as you exerted when you pushed it is returned by the wall.

How to interact with the artwork

  • 1

    The little people run around inside the wall.

  • 2

    Attach mushrooms, barns, long sticks of ice, and other stamps to the walls, and the little people will perform various actions: bounce, climb, or slide.

  • 3

    When smiley face seeds start to fall down from above and hit the mushrooms and other things attached to the wall, different sounds will play.

Skills Nurtured

  • Creativity, Power of Expression
  • Pattern Recognition
  • Logical Thinking
  • Understanding of Gravity