General Inspirations

Before taking the course, I visited an interactive museum in Tokyo called teamLab Borderless which strongly inspired me for the direction I wanted to go in for the final project. The museum uses technology to elicit emotional responses and encourages their visitors to immerse themselves and take part in the artworks. Personally, I found the artworks to be the most interesting and joyful interactions I have experienced with technology and I have a gained a strong admiration for the domain.

From their website:

https://borderless.teamlab.art/

teamLab Borderless is a group of artworks that form one borderless world. Artworks move out of rooms, communicate with other works, influence, and sometimes intermingle with each other with no boundaries.

Immerse your body in borderless art in this vast, complex, three-dimensional 10,000 square meter world. Wander, explore with intention, discover, and create a new world with others.

What stood out to me with the artworks was the use of colour and sound to stimulate multiple senses. The combination visual and audible elements which complemented each other made me more aware of my surroundings and gave me a sense of relaxation and inner calmness. For me, this was the first time technology had made me feel these emotions in such an immersive manner. These feelings inspired me to create a similar experience, and so I would like to explore this domain further in the following weeks.

### Forest of Resonating Lamps

Furthermore, it was very interesting to explore the concept of participating in an artwork with a community of people, especially strangers. One installation, named Forest of Resonating Lamps uses the visitors presence to form a single connecting light between all lamps.

From their website:

https://borderless.teamlab.art/ew/forestofresonatinglampsfireonice/

When a person stands still close to a lamp, it shines brightly and emits a color that resonates out. The light becomes the starting point, and it spreads to the two nearest lamps. The light from the two nearest lamps transmits the same color to other lamps, spreading out continuously. The light transmitted always resonates out as a bright light once, passing to close lamps, until 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.

Forest of Resonating Lamps was a room of which you entered for a few minutes with a group of strangers. We were spread out across the room, and the lamps started alternating between colours in a pattern across the room. It was very interesting to be in the space, and I felt a sense of community by observing the lamps change from person to person. Reflecting on this, it was interesting how lamps changing in colour evoked this feeling.

### Inverted Globe Graffiti Nature, Red List

The installation called Inverted Globe Graffiti Nature, Red List challenged me to be playful and creative. These skills are not regularly employed or exercised in my daily life, and so it was enriching to engage with the activity. The activity mainly revolved around colouring an outline of a red-listed animal which was subsequently scanned and displayed in the premises.

From their website:

https://www.teamlab.art/ew/graffitinatureinverted_macao

Various creatures drawn by everyone live in the inverted globe. Color in a creature on the paper provided. See the picture you have drawn come to life and move in front of you.

Living things eat each other and are eaten by each other to create one shared ecosystem. If the creature you drew eats other living things, its numbers will increase. On the other hand, if it does not eat enough, it will die. And if it is eaten by other creatures, it will disappear.

Flowers will bloom if you stand still, but will disperse if you walk around. And the salamanders will die if you step on them too much. This work is based on the Red List and depicts local endangered wildlife.

I found this activity to be the most memorable and unique experience of the museum. Although the concept was likely more aimed towards children, I felt pleased and happy interacting with it. It was nice to simply sit down with a creative outlet and experiment with colour, and I could imagine using it as a form of stress relief. Upon scanning my drawing, it started appearing on the floor. I followed it around for a few minutes, and saw it interact with the other animals created by other visitors. It was an exceptional experience to see the drawing come alive with animations, and it filled me with a sense of joy and pride. This ended up being my main inspiration for the idea I presented during the week 2 presentations, as the experience of creation and creativity is something I would love to explore further.