Dissipative Figures

2022

Dissipative Figures is a series that depicts the existence of life, not by the contours of the body, but by the energy that life constantly dissipates into the world and the resulting movement of the environment that arises from it.

Life is not confined to the physical boundary of the body. As long as an organism is alive, breathes, moves, generates heat, vibrates the air, and continues to dissipate energy into its surroundings. The contours of life are not the surface boundary of the body, but something ambiguous that includes the environment that is continuous with it.

In this series, life is not depicted by the material surface boundary of the body itself. Its existence is depicted through the movement of the environment generated by the movement of life, the energy it continues to give to the world, and the flow born from its dissipation. The lines do not trace the outline of the body. An existence emerges through the flow of energy that life dissipates into the environment.

The viewer is also not outside of the artwork. When viewers pass in front of the artwork and move their bodies, they themselves also move the surrounding environment. This movement occurs within the same space as the space where the depicted existence is. The movement of the existence and the movement of the viewer blend together within the same flow of energy, and the lines that depict the existence are disrupted and change due to the movement of the viewer.

The existence depicted here is not a closed object. What is depicted and what is viewed are not split into separate spaces, but are continuous within the same environment. The artwork is not an image for viewing the depicted existence from the outside, but becomes a place where the depicted existence and the viewer blend together within the same environment.

An object like a stone can continue to exist even if placed in a closed box, sealed off from the outside world. However, life cannot maintain its existence in such a closed box. Life continues to sustain its structure by consuming matter and energy from the outside, discharging matter, and dissipating energy outward.

Life is like a vortex created in the ocean. A vortex forms and exists in a flow, and the boundaries of its existence are ambiguous. A vortex is created by water that continuously flows from the outside to the inside and from the inside to the outside, and maintains its structure through that flow. Even though the inside and outside of the vortex are made up of the same water, a single existence emerges there.

Life is also not a closed object separated from the world. It continues to dissipate energy into the world and maintains its structure while remaining continuous with the environment. Life is a miraculous phenomenon that emerges from a flow in an open world, and is an existence within an infinite continuity.

Dissipative Figures expands the portrait and the image of life from that which depicts the outline of the body to that which depicts existence through the energy that life continues to dissipate into the world. To be alive is to be an open existence that continues to dissipate energy into the world and is continuous with the world.

Dissipative Figures – Human, Black in White

teamLab, 2022, Digital Work, Single channel, Continuous loop

The contours of life’s existence are not the surface boundary of the body, but something ambiguous that includes the environment that is continuous with it.As long as people live, they dissipate energy and affect the environment, such as the flow of air.In this artwork, the existence of a person is depicted through the energy dissipated by people into the world for as long as they live.Being consists of the mind, the body, and the environment that is continuous with them.Objects like stones and man-made creations so far have maintained a stable structure on their own. But life is different. Whereas a stone can continue to exist in a closed box, sealed off from the outside world, life would cease to exist.Life is like a vortex created in the ocean. A vortex forms and exists in a flow of matter, and the boundaries of its existence are ambiguous. Although a vortex is steady, it is constantly moving and swelling like a powerful life-form. The vortex cannot maintain a stable structure on its own; rather, it is created and sustained by water that continuously flows inwards and outwards.The same is true of life. It consumes external matter and energy as food and discharges it, sustaining its ordered structure as the energy dissipates. In other words, life does not exist by itself. It is the environment that is continuous with it that maintains the structure of life.Life is a miraculous phenomenon that emerges from a flow in an open world. Like an ocean vortex, it is an existence with ambiguous boundaries in an infinite continuity.To be alive is to be inseparable from the world, constantly dissipating energy into it.

Dissipative Figures – Human, Black in White

teamLab, 2022, Digital Work, 8 channels, Continuous Loop

Dissipative Figures – 2 Humans, Black in White

teamLab, 2022, Digital Work, 8 channels, Continuous loop

Dissipative Figures – 1000 Birds, Black in White

teamLab, 2022, Digital Work, 4 channels, Continuous loop

The contours of life’s existence are not the surface boundary of the body, but something ambiguous that includes the environment that is continuous with it.As long as people live, they dissipate energy and affect the environment, such as the flow of air.In this artwork, the existence of the birds are depicted through the energy they dissipate into the world.Being consists of the mind, the body, and the environment that is continuous with them.Objects like stones and man-made creations so far have maintained a stable structure on their own. But life is different. Whereas a stone can continue to exist in a closed box, sealed off from the outside world, life would cease to exist.Life is like a vortex created in the ocean. A vortex forms and exists in a flow of matter, and the boundaries of its existence are ambiguous. Although a vortex is steady, it is constantly moving and swelling like a powerful life-form. The vortex cannot maintain a stable structure on its own; rather, it is created and sustained by water that continuously flows inwards and outwards.The same is true of life. It consumes external matter and energy as food and discharges it, sustaining its ordered structure as the energy dissipates. In other words, life does not exist by itself. It is the environment that is continuous with it that maintains the structure of life.Life is a miraculous phenomenon that emerges from a flow in an open world. Like an ocean vortex, it is an existence with ambiguous boundaries in an infinite continuity.To be alive is to be inseparable from the world, constantly dissipating energy into it.

Dissipative Figures – 1000 Birds, Black in White

teamLab, 2022, Digital Work, 8 channels, Continuous loop

The contours of life’s existence are not the surface boundary of the body, but something ambiguous that includes the environment that is continuous with it.As long as people live, they dissipate energy and affect the environment, such as the flow of air.In this artwork, the existence of the birds are depicted through the energy they dissipate into the world.Being consists of the mind, the body, and the environment that is continuous with them.Objects like stones and man-made creations so far have maintained a stable structure on their own. But life is different. Whereas a stone can continue to exist in a closed box, sealed off from the outside world, life would cease to exist.Life is like a vortex created in the ocean. A vortex forms and exists in a flow of matter, and the boundaries of its existence are ambiguous. Although a vortex is steady, it is constantly moving and swelling like a powerful life-form. The vortex cannot maintain a stable structure on its own; rather, it is created and sustained by water that continuously flows inwards and outwards.The same is true of life. It consumes external matter and energy as food and discharges it, sustaining its ordered structure as the energy dissipates. In other words, life does not exist by itself. It is the environment that is continuous with it that maintains the structure of life.Life is a miraculous phenomenon that emerges from a flow in an open world. Like an ocean vortex, it is an existence with ambiguous boundaries in an infinite continuity.To be alive is to be inseparable from the world, constantly dissipating energy into it.

Dissipative Figures

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