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Transcending limits: a new home for teamLab Borderless

The new venue is now open at Azabudai Hills in Tokyo

teamLab Borderless reopened on 9 February in its new home at Azabudai Hills. Created by renowned international art collective teamLab, Borderless is a world of artworks without boundaries.

In its new venue at the Azabudai Hills Modern Urban Village, part of Tokyo’s transformation as an international centre of cultural activity, artworks move out of rooms, communicate with other works, are changed by people’s presence, and sometimes merge to form a borderless world.

One of the exhibits unveiled for the first time, Bubble Universe, features illuminated and reflective spheres. Another new space, Dark Crystal Formation, features Life is an Ephemeral Light that Blooms in the Dark, showcasing flowers that grow, bud, blossom, and then die, and Black Waves, which explores the interconnectedness of all oceans.

“Physical media is no longer the limit,” teamLab told blooloop. “Digital technology has made it possible for artworks to expand physically. Art created using digital technology can easily expand.”

teamLab’s collaborative practice seeks to navigate the coming together of art, science, technology, and the natural world. The interdisciplinary group, which is made up of artists, programmers and engineers, as well as CG animators, mathematicians, and architects, creates works that explore the relationship between the self and the world, asking questions about the nature of perception.

Mori Building, a creator of developments including Azabudai Hills, recognises that to thrive globally and attract people, goods and capital, as well as information from across the globe, Tokyo must transform itself into a premier destination—a city of choice—among international stakeholders. Cultural venues and contemporary art are a part of that transformation.

teamLab’s communication director Takashi Kudo and Angela Zhou from Mori Building’s new experience-based activities department speak to blooloop about the partnership.

The experience of borderlessness

teamLab Borderless, which first opened in 2018 and closed in 2022, opened once more in February 2024. The concept, just as when they opened the first teamLab Borderless, is that of transcending borders: the experience of borderlessness.

teamLab logo

“There is no border between the art,” Takashi Kudo explains. “There are no boundaries between the artworks and visitors. The visitors’ existence is one with the artworks.

“In its new iteration of teamLab Borderless, there are more artworks and, therefore, more experience. Beyond that, it is more… Borderless.”

Conceptually, he adds:

“It’s a process of creation. ‘Borderless’ is the central concept. We wanted to expand the cognitive world. The artist’s role is to do just that: expand people’s perception of the world. We think we perceive everything we see, but in fact, we see everything that we perceive. If we can expand this perception, it then makes the world much wider.”

teamLab Black Waves in the Crystal World
teamLab, Untitled © teamLab

He expands on this:

“400 years ago, people perceived that the earth was the centre of the universe. Now, we know Earth is simply orbiting the sun in a small part of the universe. So, our world expanded with the power of science.”

Bubble Universe at teamLab Borderless

Now, teamLab is expanding the world with the power of art. Bubble Universe, an installation that made its debut with the opening of teamLab Borderless, illuminates the beauty of the human experience through continuity and expanding perception.

Returning to perception, Kudo adds:

“Today, we use mobile phones all the time, so we tend to see the world as a camera does.”

Bubble Universe offers another perspective:

“Bubble Universe is filled with an enormous number – a countless number – of spheres of light, and the light is refracted to the surrounding environment in a way that can’t be replicated – even by today’s supercomputers,” he explains.

teamLab Bubble Universe_
teamLab, Bubble Universe: Physical Light, Bubbles of Light, Wobbling Light, and Environmental Light – One Stroke © teamLab

Inside the spheres, different lights come together – lights that exist in the physical space, intense light, lights that wobble like a soap bubble, and light that emerges from the surrounding environment. Some lights move continuously inside the spheres, while some are stationary.

Kudo explains that each sphere becomes part of the environment that generates the light of the other spheres. The non-physical lights, like the soap bubble light, exist only in the viewer’s perception. Once the lights exist in our perception, they come into existence.

In terms of interactivity, if a visitor pauses and stands still, the nearest sphere to them will shine brightly and resonate a tone, the light spreading from that sphere to the one closest to it. The light will continue to travel, one adjacent sphere at a time, passing through each sphere only once and becoming a single trajectory of light, so the lights from each visitor will meet and intersect.

The light created by people’s presence is continuous. The artwork expresses the beauty of that continuity of light created by people interacting with the spheres and comments on continuity itself.

Subverting perception

The work is, on the surface level, beautiful:

“The lights that appear in our cognitive world as bubbles don’t change your everyday life. But through their beauty, your world will be a little bit more beautiful than before.”

On a deeper level:

“We see the cognitive world as a series of continuities, running from long ago. Artists and scientists try to expand that cognitive world through a journey of perception, making us look again at how the sky or the ground is moving, the planets rotating, or how light reflects on the water. Through this artwork, we want you to feel as if you’re also a part of that continuity, of that Borderless world.”

Bubble Universe_ teamLab
teamLab, Bubble Universe: Physical Light, Bubbles of Light, Wobbling Light, and Environmental Light – One Stroke © teamLab

The work is a conceptual evolution of teamLab. Borderless has become more borderless, operating on the interface between perception and creation, where we are the architects of our unique perceived universe. Bubble Universe then subverts perception itself, bringing new perspectives to bear.

He adds:

“New technologies change and shape the way we live. Cameras, for example, have shaped how we observe the physical world, and lens-connected technologies have affected our lifestyles. If you go to the movies, you have to sit still in front of the screen for two and a half hours.”

This lens-centric view even underpins the living room of a house:

“The couch is in front of the TV. Before there were TVs, the living room would have looked completely different. It might have been arranged as a place where everyone ate together as a family. Technology and convenience shape our perception, physical spaces, and how we live.”

Azabudai Hills

On a large scale, this understanding of how space is shaped by the tools we use to make life more convenient and art more accessible is innately entwined with the development of new cities. In creating new living spaces, a focus has to be kept on lifestyle to prevent the joy of being human – long walks, contemplation of nature, cultural attractions – from being sacrificed to convenience.

Angela Zhou Mori Building
Angela Zhou

Mori Building recognises that a premier destination comprises a quality living environment in addition to office environments. This includes housing and access to top-tier educational facilities, as well as green spaces for recreation and wellness. It also includes vibrant cultural amenities like museums and galleries.

The Azabudai Hills development, a ‘city within a city’ which concentrates urban functions within walking distance, is a good fit for the teamLab vision. In addition to the innovative Borderless digital art museum, it features the multipurpose Azabudai Hills Gallery. There are also numerous public artworks throughout the complex.

Mori’s Angela Zhou explains:

“Azabudai Hills is a brand-new complex that officially opened in November after being in development for nearly 35 years. It consists of regular shops, medical clinics, an international school, sports facilities, residences, offices, and cultural facilities such as teamLab’s Borderless Museum. It sits on 8.1 hectares, of which nearly 1/3 is plants and green spaces.”

City-makers

Developments such as Azabudai Hills reflect Mori Building’s philosophy, founded upon recognising Tokyo’s ability to compete in a fiercely competitive global urban landscape. Tokyo, responsible for 20% of Japan’s GDP, serves as the nation’s vital economic and cultural heartbeat.

“We call ourselves ‘city-makers; we believe that art and culture are among the most crucial elements to boosting Tokyo’s international competitiveness. We collaborated with teamLab during their temporary closure.”

Azabudai Hills
Azabudai Hills

Mori Building prioritises highlighting contemporary art:

“Artworks once considered radical are now regarded as classics. The future classics will emerge from the realm of ‘contemporary art’. We aspire to witness the emergence of such art and also to support artists of our time. We want to showcase their creations from Tokyo and Japan on the global stage.”

The company pioneered urban development projects that actively integrate cultural elements. Mori’s ARK Hills, completed in 1986, boasts the renowned classical concert hall, Suntory Hall. In 2003, Mori also launched Roppongi Hills, which features the Mori Art Museum (dedicated to contemporary art) and TOHO Cinemas, a state-of-the-art cinema complex. Toranomon Hills Station Tower, which opened in 2023, hosts TOKYO NODE, a dissemination hub for cultural and business events.

The role of teamLab Borderless

Touching on what makes teamLab’s Borderless a fit for this particular development, Zhou comments:

“In terms of immersive experiences, teamLab Borderless is the only experience of its kind in the world.”

teamLab The Way of the Sea, Cosmic Void
teamLab, The Way of the Sea: Cosmic Void © teamLab

Kudo agrees: “When you enter Borderless, it is to wonder, explore, and discover. Our message to people is that you will get lost inside the museum. There is no map. It’s not fixed, everything is moving. It will have changed even if you return to the same room 15 minutes later.  This also reflects life. Maybe when you’re a school student, teachers will show you the ‘correct’ way. But once you grow up and enter society, nothing is so simple. Nothing is signposted, and nobody tells you the correct answers.

“You have to wander, explore, discover the explanations, the answers.”

The experience in Borderless is the same: it is, in short, the experience of borderlessness.

“It’s huge. I’ve lost my way many times,” Kudo remarks. He adds: “People like maps; they like the certainty of being told, ‘In 100 metres, turn to the left, and you’ll find the artwork.’ However, if they allow themselves to be lost and wander and try to find their way, they might discover something new on the way.”

Convenience and technology

He contends that in the 21st century, with constant internet access, we have all become accustomed to achieving objectives efficiently. If we want to see or know something, it’s there, readily available, at the touch of a screen:

“In the process, we have lost something.” Convenience comes at a high price: “We have lost the ability to enjoy the process, the journey.”

He adds: “I like to walk with my son. Sometimes, as we wander in the park, we’ll also discover something: perhaps a new flower that has shown up.”

teamLab Borderless creates this sense of wandering and making small, joyful discoveries in the digital space.

Proliferating Immense Life - A Whole Year per Year teamLab
teamLab, Moving Creates Vortices and Vortices Create Movement © teamLab

Mori’s Azabudai Hills complex acknowledges that same aspect of humanity with its walkable green spaces, as well as public artworks that people can discover as they wander.

In terms of the vision to boost Tokyo’s international competitiveness, Zhou says: “We call our targets global players. By choosing the global players, we believe our landscape will develop and further enhance and cultivate culture and the arts.”

For teamLab, Kudo says the target audience is universal: “Borderless is for everyone: the whole of humanity.”

Adding his insights into emerging trends in the art space, he says: “It’s not about new things. For example, almost every weekend, I go camping with my sons. I like to be immersed in nature. I can see natural environments on the TV, but I enjoy being there, among the trees, the rocks, and the different kinds of insects. In New York or London, I walk every morning, at random, through parks.”

teamLab Borderless and the joy of creating

Rather than emergent trends, he identifies eternal human preferences: “A connection to nature and the desire to move one’s body.”

He adds that growing from these baseline elements is the desire to create and also to enjoy the creations of others:

“Creativity is great. To stop creating is to stop being human.  What we are creating now, in terms of art, games, and digital art, represents a change in materials. Long ago, people made gardens by placing rocks, routing rivers, and planting plants. Now, we are using technology as our material and our tools.

“The trend, then, is the same human trend that led us to create the garden.”

teamLab birth
teamLab, Birth © teamLab

Angela Zhou, adding her perspective, says:

“In art, spontaneity and interaction can be identified as upcoming trends. Concerning city-making, we believe green sustainability is the most crucial pillar. It’s not an emergent trend but an aspect where Japan is behind Europe. As an example, Japan has a lot of green spaces and trees compared to other countries. However, where there is free access to Central Park or the parks in European cities, in Japan, the parks and green spaces are secure and not accessible to various people.

“We believe one of our company’s most important tasks is solving that issue. It’s not a trend, perhaps, but it’s a crucial element.”

In closing, Kudo comments on teamLab’s work:

“Sometimes, to lose your way can be a joyful discovery. We keep creating the things we believe in, and if people love our creations, we’re happy.”

Top image: teamLab, Bubble Universe: Physical Light, Bubbles of Light, Wobbling Light, and Environmental Light – One Stroke © teamLab
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Lalla Merlin

Lalla Merlin

Lead features writer Lalla studied English at St. Hugh’s College, Oxford University, and Law with the Open University. A writer, film-maker, and aspiring lawyer, she lives in rural Devon with an assortment of badly behaved animals, including a friendly wolf

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