In Screaming Colour
Espace teamLab x M&O: Resonating Microcosms - Solidified Light Color, Maison&Objet, Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre © teamLab
In an art gallery, it can often feel as though the other visitors get in the way of engaging with the artworks. But in the case of Resonating Microcosms - Solidified Light Color, the presence of fellow strangers is a boon.
A new interactive installation set to open at Maison&Objet in March 2022, Resonating Microcosms has been created by the international art collective teamLab to react to visitors, creating waves of light and sound that become more complex and beautiful the more people interact with it.
Resonating Microcosms features clusters of amorphous ovoids, which are lit from within and emit a tone when touched. Visitors can gently push and rock the haptic ovoids to trigger a sound and colour change, which emanates outwards to the surrounding sculptures in a ripple effect. “The paradigm in traditional art has been to treat the existence of other viewers as a nuisance,” explain teamLab. “If you are at an exhibition with no other viewers for example, you are likely to think of yourself as extremely lucky. But at teamLab, we encourage people to think of the presence of other viewers as a positive factor.”
The more people interacting with the artwork, the more colour and sound fills the space. “Factors such as whether there were any viewers who saw the work before you did, or what the viewer next to you is currently doing, suddenly become important,” says teamLab. “If the effect of another person’s presence on the art is beautiful, it is possible that that person’s presence itself will be seen as beautiful.”
It’s a fitting ethos for an installation celebrating the return of an in-person edition of Maison&Objet. Visitors to the Paris design fair will, like everyone, have spent much of the past two years separated by lockdowns and safety measures. Resonating Microcosms explores how people can interact without touching, by becoming a part of the artwork together.
In contrast to the tactility of the installation, teamLab has harnessed digital technology to create the intangible elements of Resonating Microcosms. The lighting elements in the ovoids show teamLab’s Solidified Light Colours – what they describe as “colour concepts” that have “never been seen” before. Each hue appears to be made up of multiple complementary shades that are refracted and distorted through the transparent curves of the light sculptures, creating an iridescent sheen like oil on water. Although, attempts to describe the Solidified Light Colours prove somewhat futile: “It is very difficult to explain the colour with words,” says teamLab.
“If the effect of another person’s presence on the art is beautiful, it is possible that that person’s presence itself will be seen as beautiful.”
Like an ecosystem, everything is held in balance in Resonating Microcosms. The ovoids emit a tone as they right themselves from being rocked, encouraging their companions to join them in chorus. The installation’s creators liken the effect to a weather system, with humans acting as the wind that moves through the space and affects it. Even when the room is empty or the people within are still, Resonating Microcosms will appear to pulse with life, the ovoids gently flickering at each other.
Harnessing digital technology to create physical spaces that encourage interaction is part of teamLab’s modus operandi. With Resonating Microcosms, the collective of artists, programmers, engineers and architects hope to make the viewers expand their horizons. “With the immersion of the body into the artwork, the boundary between the self and the artwork becomes ambiguous,” they say. “We hope that visitors will become lost, both physically and more metaphorically, and that they will explore an immersive art installation. In doing so, we hope they discover the beauty of the borderless world that we believe is beautiful.”
Maison&Objet will take place in Paris from 24-28 March 2022.
This article was made for Maison&Objet.