Angela Lee – Looking Outwards – 01

This summer, I visited teamLab’s Planets exhibition of digital art in Tokyo, Japan. I was especially inspired by the art piece, “Floating in the Falling Universe of Flowers.” The project, a video showing flowers falling towards the ground, was projected across a dark dome ceiling, and viewers could watch lying down, sitting, or standing. According to the creators, the video is rendered in real time by a computer, and the viewer’s interactions with the installation affect what is rendered. teamLab, a collaborative creative arts group, worked with Hideaki Takashi, who created the soundtrack. The work felt similar to another installation from the exhibit (“Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People – Infinity”) since both works explored the beauty of temporariness. As someone who tends to enjoy routine, this installation inspired me to be more open-minded towards change. While the imagery of the flowers falling and wilting was sad, I was also struck by the beauty of its aging process. This piece of art was thought-provoking because it lead me to realize that an exact moment in time can never happen again—everything is temporary, and maybe that elicits beauty. I think the creators created a impactful, immersive space by engaging the senses through sound, smell, and sight.