Jaclyn Saik Looking Outwards 01

I have always been drawn to interactive art that is set up to transform entire spaces and redefine the audience’s sense of reality while experiencing the installation. The Japanese company teamLab, who has created a lot of popular interactive art installations and who I’ve seen pop up periodically in my newsfeed, created an interactive koi pond display that looks very interesting and complex. The viewer first walked into a pool of calf-high moving water, surrounded by darkness and mirrors so it appears never ending, and then watches as koi fish (light projections) dart around them and change speeds, crashing into their legs and exploding into an array of flowers.

teamLab created this installation for the “Odaiba Minna no YUME-TAIRIKU 2016” festival in Tokyo, and works as a way to celebrate Japanese culture.

What I found especially interesting about this artwork is that the technical aspects of it are all geared towards teamLab’s “Body Immersive” space idea, this philosophy of work focuses on making ” the boundaries between the viewer and the work become more abstract.” I think light projections are a clever way to do this, since playing and restricting your ability to see highlights the interaction that the user can have with the projections.

As far as how this system operates, the creators keep most of their information to themselves. Based on my little knowledge of using computer science in interactive art, I’m guessing this system uses spacial or motion sensors to detect where people are within the space, and then run a complex that can project these schools of koi fish swirling around the users and occasionally crashing into them. I would love ot one day be part of creating artwork where the code responds to a person’s movements and actions while they do something natural (rather than directly interact with a machine).