TOPIC OF THE WEEK FEBRUARY 26. 2021~

teamLab: Digitized Kairakuen Garden

Kairakuen Garden was created at the end of the Edo Period (1842) as a garden centered around a pond and was designated as a Special Place of Scenic Beauty. It is considered to be one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan alongside Kenrokuen Garden in Kanazawa and Korakuen Garden in Okayama. Kairakuen Garden is home to 3,000 plum trees of around 100 varieties, and it is well known for its plum blossoms. Because of this wide variety of trees, the plum blossoms bloom over a longer period of time.
teamLab’s art project Digitized Nature explores how nature can become art. The concept of the project is that non-material digital technology can turn nature into art without harming it.
Humans cannot recognize time longer than their own lifespans. In other words, there is a boundary in our understanding of the long continuity of time. The forms and shapes of nature have been created over many years and have been molded by the interactions between people and nature. We can perceive this long duration of time in these shapes of nature themselves. By using the shapes, we believe we can explore the boundary in our perception of the long continuity of time.
teamLab: Digitized Kairakuen Garden will transform this garden, where various types of plum trees bloom in spring, into an interactive art space that changes due to the presence of people.
Life is Continuous Light - Plum Trees
The Mito Plum Festival has a history of 120 years. About 3,000 plum trees of 100 varieties are planted in Kairakuen Garden. Approximately 1,500 plum trees grow in the plum grove spread in front of Kobuntei house. Each plum tree’s light is autonomous, shining brightly and then fading.
When people pass close to the plum trees, the light changes color, and a tone specific to that color resonates out. The light of the tree radiates outward and is transmitted to the surrounding trees one by one, as the sound is continuously emitted.
When a light resonates from the plum trees in the distance, it signifies the presence of people. Perhaps people will become more aware of the existence of others in the same space.

teamLab: Digitized Kairakuen Garden
Date: Mar 1 - Mar 31, 2021 18:00 - 20:30 (Last entry at 20:00)
Venue: Kairakuen Garden Closest Sta.: Mito Station (North Exit) JR Joban Line

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