A gleaming new mega-monster complex opens in Tokyo’s Minato Ward this Friday. Along with offices, green spaces and the tallest building in Japan, Mori’s Azabudai Hills development will include a relocated museum of works by international art collective teamLab. TeamLab Borderless, previously located in Tokyo’s Odaiba area, is slated to open in early February after closing in August 2022.
On Monday, media were shown two new installations that will appear in the new space, “Bubble Universe” and “Megalith Crystal Formation.” Representatives from teamLab declined to share many details about the reopened space, including how many new or total works there will be.
In the past five years, teamLab works and exhibitions have become a hugely popular fixture of tourism in Japan. The collective’s projects have also expanded across the world, to the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and as such the team has grown. Perhaps creatively, too, says founder Toshiyuki Inoko.
“I don’t really know what the difference between Odaiba and Azabudai Hills is, but we’re different,” Inoko says. “We’ve had different experiences. And the way we’re creating now may have changed without our knowing.”
Judging by the two works that were available, the new Borderless will not be a dramatic departure from the previous one. Visitors will recognize teamLab’s signature Instagram-ready digital works that adapt and respond to the movements of visitors. “Bubble Universe” is a mirrored room full of hanging spheres filled with light, and the darker “Megalith Crystal Formation” displays animated images based on flowers and sea waves.
Here’s an early look at teamLab Borderless:
