SINGAPORE – International art collective teamLab’s newest permanent exhibition, teamLab Biovortex Kyoto, the largest in Japan, opens on Oct 7.
Located a seven-minute walk from JR Kyoto Station, it spans more than 10,000 sq m across four floors and features over 50 works.
It joins 22 other exhibitions running in cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Singapore, Miami and Abu Dhabi.
As with other teamLab installations, the works use light, perception, sound and space to create immersive experiences for visitors.
Mr Toshiyuki Inoko, founder of teamLab, tells The Straits Times that the artworks featured “transcend the conventional idea of objects that people have” and challenge what modern society “considers as lasting or permanent”.
Speaking in Japanese through a translator, he says: “I hope people will experience a new kind of existence and that their perceptions will expand after visiting the exhibition.”
The project was created in collaboration with several Osaka- and Kyoto-based companies to support Kyoto’s urban development, as the city aims to transform the area south-east of Kyoto Station into a vibrant hub for art, culture and youth.
Among the works in teamLab Biovortex Kyoto debuting in Japan is Massless Amorphous Sculpture – an installation made of vast clouds of soap bubbles that hover midair. Visitors can touch and walk through the bubbles, causing them to shift and change form.
One of the artworks to debut is the Massless Amorphous Sculpture, made from clouds of soap bubbles.
PHOTO: TEAMLAB
Other installations like Ephemeral Crystallized Rain and Massless Suns And Dark Suns use light to create sensory environments that blur the line between perception and reality.
Another highlight, Athletics Forest, features a dynamic play zone filled with light projections, soundscapes and physical challenges, including hanging balance beams, trampolines and slides.
In Athletics Forest, visitors can play on trampolines and slides amid light projections and soundscapes.
PHOTO: TEAMLAB
The art collective is globally renowned for redefining digital art experiences. Its teamLab Planets Tokyo exhibition drew over 2.5 million visitors between April 2023 and March 2024, earning it a Guinness World Record as the most-visited museum created by a single art group.
That popularity comes from its mix of sensory engagement, visual spectacle, interactive components and social media-friendly installations.
Tickets can be purchased
online
, via online travel agent
Klook
or on-site. For tickets purchased at the venue, an extra 200 yen (S$1.70) fee will apply.
Adult tickets start at 3,400 yen, while tickets for visitors with disabilities start at 1,700 yen. Tickets cost 2,800 yen for those aged 13 to 17, and 1,800 yen for children aged four to 12. Those under three enter for free.
Where: 21-5 Higashikujo Higashi-Iwamotocho, Minami-ku, Kyoto
Open: 9am to 9pm daily, except on selected Tuesdays, with last entry at 7.30pm
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