SPECIAL
teamLab
Have you ever been to a teamLab exhibition? If not, you’d be in the minority. teamLab Borderless in Odaiba, Tokyo recently became the most visited single-artist museum in the world. You’d be hard pressed to wander around Tokyo for a day without seeing the vibrant advertisements for teamLab’s exhibitions or to miss the impressive impact the collective has had on the art and tourism world.
So, what sets teamLab apart and makes them such a powerful cultural force? Pilot Japan interviewed teamLab to find out.
teamLab, Exhibition view, MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM: teamLab Borderless, 2018, Odaiba, Tokyo © teamLab
teamLab is an international art collective, founded in 2001, which combines the expertise of artists, programmers, engineers, CG animators, mathematicians, architects, and more to create their world-renowned unforgettable and incomparable exhibitions. teamLab aims to change society’s perceptions of beauty and value with their pieces which explore the relationships between humans, nature, and art. It has been a long road for teamLab to finally receive the recognition it deserves in the art world, but over the almost 20 years since its conception, teamLab has always had art and collective creativity at its core.
teamLab, Exhibition view, MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM: teamLab Borderless, 2018, Odaiba, Tokyo © teamLab
teamLab finds value in the discovery of knowledge and experience. Due to the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of teamLab, it is hard to say how long it takes to complete a piece from start to finish as it is a culmination of each contributors personal experiences and shared knowledge. This can be seen in how the art pieces move around and combine in unpredictable ways, just as in nature. teamLab hopes to change people’s perception of beauty, especially in the art world. Usually people think of other people as obstructions in their daily life or as obstacles at an art gallery. However, teamLab’s mission is to help us recognise that the people surrounding us in our life have a positive presence. teamLab does this by including the audience in their very interactive art exhibitions. This is especially relevant in busy Tokyo; if we can change the way we see everyone surrounding us, we can grow to appreciate the interactions we have on both each other and on the city.
teamLab, Exhibition view, MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM: teamLab Borderless, 2018, Odaiba, Tokyo © teamLab
teamLab teaches us that there is value in staying true to your values, and that collaboration without borders can create even stronger and more valuable knowledge. For anyone interested in joining teamLab, they are always on the lookout for programmers (User Interface Engineers, Database Engineers, Network Engineers, Hardware engineers, Computer Vision Engineers, and Software Architects), Mathematicians, Architects, CG Animators, Web Designers, Graphic Designers, Artists, Editors and more. Society generally places professions into two categories; scientific or creative. You can really see teamLab’s vision of changing society’s perception of the world at work here, with many of these traditionally scientific professions mixed together with creative professions. So, if you are looking to inject some creativity into your career teamLab could be the place to expand and share your skills.
If you are interested in exploring opportunities at teamLab, you can also check out their career page for the latest information on available positions.
teamLab, Exhibition view, MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM: teamLab Borderless, 2018, Odaiba, Tokyo © teamLab
teamLab currently has exhibitions all over the world, including an upcoming show teamLab SuperNature in Macau opening in February, 2020. Have a look at their website to see if you can catch one of teamLab’s exhibitions near you. If you’re in Tokyo make sure to visit teamLab Borderless in Odaiba, or teamLab Planets in Toyosu in Tokyo, I promise you won’t see the world in the same way once you exit!
–teamLab is represented by Pace Gallery–
