Reversible Rotation in Toji Kondo

teamLab, 2021, Digital Installation, Continuous Loop, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Reversible Rotation in Toji Kondo

teamLab, 2021, Digital Installation, Continuous Loop, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

The Kondo are the main halls of To-ji Temple, which was built when the capital moved to Heian-kyo.
To-ji Temple and Sai-ji Temple were built across the Rajomon Gate, the main gate of Heian-kyo Capital. To-ji Temple was founded in 796, and the Kondo was the first temple to be constructed. The Kondo remained in front of the capital for over 600 years, but was destroyed by fire in 1486. The present building was rebuilt in 1603. It is a representative building of the Momoyama period (late 16th century), which combined the Tenjiku and Wa styles, incorporating the styles of the Sung dynasty.

Spatial Calligraphy is drawn in the Kondo, it rotates in the artwork space, every aspect rotating in the same direction. But because of the special characteristics of Ultrasubjective Space, it can appear to be rotating clockwise or counterclockwise.

Spatial Calligraphy is calligraphy drawn in space, a form of calligraphy that teamLab has been exploring since it was founded. The artwork reconstructs calligraphy in three dimensional space to express the depth, speed and power of the brush stroke, and that calligraphy is then flattened using the logical structure teamLab calls ultrasubjective space. The calligraphy shifts between two and three dimensions.