Expanding Three-dimensional Existence in Transforming Space - Flattening 3 Colors and 9 Blurred Colors

teamLab, 2023, Interactive Installation, Endless, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Expanding Three-dimensional Existence in Transforming Space - Flattening 3 Colors and 9 Blurred Colors

teamLab, 2023, Interactive Installation, Endless, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

The space is filled with spheres of light. People move through the spheres and enter the space. When the spheres change color, the space itself shifts between a collection of spheres forming a three-dimensional space and a flat color wall.


When people move through or push them, the spheres change color, and emit a tone specific to that color. The surrounding spheres respond one after another, resonating and emitting the same tone and light color.


Wherever the sphere is, the behavior of light is maintained across the whole of the space (a three-dimensional image in which one sphere is regarded as one dot). Therefore, the light behaves as a group and can be thought of as one three-dimensional existing space. At this time, the light spreads spherically around the impacted sphere.


Since the spheres are freely positioned within the collection of sphere elements that make up the three-dimensional space, people recognize it as existing three-dimensionally and part the spheres entering into the three-dimensional existing space.


The shape of the space is determined by the collection of spheres and changes according to people’s actions (pushing or colliding).


Before the modern era in Japan, complex colors born from the characteristics of silk were given 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. Since the sphere colors are produced by light, it is possible to create nine blurred colors, (light in water, sunlight on water plants, morning glow, morning sky, sky at twilight, peach, plum, iris, spring maple), as well as three colors that flatten the space (blue, red, and green), producing a total of 12 colors.