Blurring the lines between art, nature and technology, teamLab is a Tokyo-based group of artists, architects, designers, programmers and engineers who create digital works that not only immerse the viewer in fantastical worlds of sound and light but are also interactive - visitors are invited to touch them and see how they change - and so challenge the boundary between the artwork and the viewer.
Established in 2001, the group has become extremely popular over the years for their dreamy psychedelic inventions, and have permanent exhibitions in several cities including Tokyo and Shanghai.
They also have plans to open a permanent exhibition in the Netherlands, their first in Europe, in 2024.
This year, given the national lockdowns and border closures due to Covid-19, they also launched an exhibition on YouTube as a way to connect people to one another through art. Called "Flowers Bombing Home", it invites people to submit drawings of flowers, which are then uploaded and displayed on a live stream in an ever-evolving artwork.
Recently teamLab unveiled plans for a magical outdoor-art installation in one of Japan's most famous gardens, pictured above.
Located in the city of Mito, Ibaraki, about 80 minutes from Tokyo, the garden is home to 3,000 plum trees, all of which will be transformed with digital-art projections that will morph and shift when visitors are near.
Intended to run from February 13 to March 21 2021, the exhibition is part of teamLab's Digitised Nature Project, which aims to show that non-material digital technology can turn nature into art without harming it.
The garden itself is among Japan's three most beautiful, along with Kenrokuen in Kanazawa and Kourakuen in Okayama.
It was created in 1841 by a feudal lord named Tokugawa Nariaki, who opened it to both feudal lords and the general public - an uncommon move at the time. Its name in English means "a park where everyone can relax".
The garden is particularly popular during the plum-blossom season, from late February until the end of March, when its 3,000 plum trees of over 100 varieties burst out in white, pink and red blossoms.
The teamLab installation will also coincide with the area's annual Mito Plum Festival.
HOW TO ENTER
To stand a chance of winning R500, tell us the name of the garden pictured above. E-mail travelquiz@sundaytimes.co.za before noon on Tuesday December 15.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
- The competition is open to South African residents only.
- Only one entry per person is permissible.
- The same person is not eligible to win in a six-month period.
- The competition closes on December 15 2020 at noon.
- The winner will be chosen via a random draw from all eligible entries received.
- The winner will be notified via e-mail. Their name will be published along with the correct answer in the Travel section of the Sunday Times Lifestyle magazine on December 20 2020.
• Last week’s winner is Desiree Hermans. The correct answer was the Rockefeller Centre.
