TeamLab’s ‘Continuity’ at the Asian Art Museum is a uniquely immersive, interactive experience
As my eyes adjusted to both the darkness of the gallery and the swirling pink and fuchsia flowers projected on the walls and floor, it hit me: a blast of sweet pea, maybe tuberose, perhaps peony? The fragrance drifted through the galleries (and my mask), and I mentally connected the smell to the explosions of digital flowers surrounding me. The perfume was mildly intoxicating but not too artificial: It was a heightened interpretation of what spring flowers smell like, rather than a re-creation. That is also an apt description for “Continuity,” the inaugural exhibition at the Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang Pavilion at the Asian Art Museum by Tokyo-based art collective teamLab. The moving images, soundtrack and even the fragrances piped into the gallery are all entirely original and created by the hundreds of programmers and designers who make up teamLab, founded by Toshiyuki Inoko in 2001. The collective oversees a number of exhibition spaces in Tokyo in addition to exhibiting internationally, including at Menlo Park’s Pace Gallery in 2016.(Excerpt from the text)