The window closes as you approach a meditative state, and opens as your mind wanders, revealing a view of Tokyo Tower.

Rhizomatiks Architecture's exhibit at MEDIA AMBITION TOKYO 2016 (MAT) drew long lines of visitors from the first day, February 26th, hoping to experience the work. Located at Tokyo City View on the 52nd floor of Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills, "MAT LAB" features a variety of experimental works as a space for new experiments by artists and companies.

Rhizomatiks, a group of leading Japanese digital creators, is exhibiting three installations at MAT titled "SPACE EXPERIMENT," which explore the possibilities of space and technology. All of these works use current technology to test the relationship between the body and space that they have previously advocated, and are a study of their feasibility.

This time, the exhibition consists of three installations: "Minded Mirror," which analyzes brain waves and links with motors to create interaction; "Sensed Visual," in which images change in response to the tilt of the earlobe when worn with glasses equipped with an Intel Computer Stick; and "Throat," which recreates sound using the spatial structure of the throat and the shape of the lips.

Rhizomatiks is also involved in the development of "Rez Infinite - Synesthesia Suit," a synesthesia suit that allows you to experience music through touch, sight, and hearing, a three-way collaboration between Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the creator of the audio-visual computer game Rez, which was released in 2001 and attracted a lot of attention, and the Keio University of Technology Graduate School of Media Design. Other experiential works available include "The Mirror/Fujii Naotaka + GRINDER-MAN + EVALA," in which visitors wear a head-mounted display and interact with a mirror image of themselves displayed on a monitor facing their body, modulating their self-awareness and concepts of time and space (numbered tickets required). Also, consideration of physicality and technology, such as in "Handiii/Hackberry," which uses a 3D printer and smartphone to develop a low-cost, practical electric prosthetic hand, is a major theme throughout the event. Other works on display include "Light of birth," a holographic art piece using lasers and fog by visual design studio WOW; "vVvoxel," a cube-shaped video piece by Paris-based audiovisual artist Alex Augier; "WALKING cube," a shape-shifting cube by Paris-based 1024 Architecture; and "Syndrome/Earth Hole," an installation by EUGENE KANGAWA that projects the sky on the other side of the Earth from where you stand on a monitor. This is a rare opportunity to gather together media art pieces that are difficult to gather in one place due to exhibition environment and maintenance issues. Also on display is a new project by Eugene Kangawa: The North Face Moon Parka, made from an innovative protein material made from synthetic spider silk, jointly developed by Goldwyn and Spiber, along with a video work. Other fashion-related exhibits include "FABOLOGY," a work by Etw. Vonneguet, who will also be participating in Tokyo Collection and opening a direct store at Parco in March. It uses a conductive adhesive developed by Cemedine. Equipped with 2,400 LEDs, designer Olga proposes a wearable design with a fashion perspective.

[Event Information]
MEDIA AMBITION TOKYO 2016
■Roppongi Venue
Tokyo City View, 52nd Floor, Roppongi Hills
Address: 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
<Exhibition>
Dates: February 7th to March 21st
Hours: Monday to Thursday, Sunday, and public holidays 10:00 to 22:00
Admission: 1,800 yen on the day; 1,500 yen in advance (Tokyo City View admission fee)

Text: Tatsuya Noda