Visitors to the Maison & Objet design fair in Paris this September, were treated to a magical cathedral of Glass Lanterns, courtesy of Tokyo-based techno-art collective teamLab’s new installation, Forest of Resonating Lamps – One Stroke. Much like their Floating Flower Garden, which popped up in Paris and Tokyo the previous year, Forest of Resonating Lamps is a sea of vertical wires that respond to movement throughout the three-dimensional space.
The Glass Lanterns send shockwaves of colour-coded light to their neighbors as visitors enter the Forest. When they begin adopting different colours near you, that means someone else has sent a shockwave from the far side of the space. The effect is that you become instantly aware of the others who around you. This echoes teamLab’s stated mission to break down the barriers between the physical and digital with their artwork.
(Forest of Resonating Lamps ran from September 2 – 6 at the main hall Parc des Expositions de Paris Nord Villepinte)
“When a person stands still at close range to a lamp, it shines brightly and emits a color that resonates out. The light of this lamp becomes the starting point, and it spreads to the two nearest lamps. The light from the lamps transmits the same color to other lamps, one after another, spreading out continuously. The light transmitted from the lamp always resonates out at a bright light once, passing between close lamps, till all lamps have shone brightly once, and then returns to the first lamp. The light of the lamp in response to human interaction, divides in two, becomes one optical line through all lamps respectively, finally, meeting at the first lamp that became the starting point.
If a light comes from the other side of the room, it means that there is someone else standing there. Visitors become aware of the presence of others in the same space.
All the lamps, seemingly scattered randomly, are placed in the space to form a continuous line when the two lamps closest to each other are connected with a line. The first lamp, responding to a person’s position, resonates to the closest two lamps, and these two lamps in turn resonate to other nearby lamps. This forms a chain reaction by passing through all lamps in one loop until the resonating action ends at the originating lamp.
The placement of lights was mathematically calculated so that it satisfies these constraints. The variability of the lamps’ direction and the average angle that creates a three-dimensional route were examined multiple times in order to achieve the final placement of the lamps.
The arrangement of the lamps is not only beautiful in a static way, but also in a dynamic way when activated by viewers. It demonstrates the space of a new era. The space is designed through digital technology and adapts to the movement of the people in it. “
– From the website
“The arrangement of the lamps is not only beautiful in a static way, but also in a dynamic way when activated by viewers”
All images courtesy of teamLab, Check out their website for others installations.
