"Infinity of Flowers," an installation piece by the ultra-technologist group teamLab, based on Gucci's iconic flora motif, is now on display in the Gucci Shinjuku event space on the third floor.
teamLab's creative media art has earned them international acclaim, winning the Design, Arts and Culture Award at Laval Virtual 2012, Europe's largest virtual reality exhibition, and holding the first solo exhibition by a foreign company at the National Museum of Art in Taiwan. Furthermore, in the summer of 2014, they held a large-scale solo exhibition at Pace Gallery, a prestigious New York gallery at the forefront of the global contemporary art scene.
This latest installation is an installation of flowers that continuously draws in real time using a computer program on the entire wall of the event space. When people touch the image projected on the screen, some flowers bloom, while others begin to dance all at once. Eventually, they scatter, wither, and disappear, only to sprout new buds, grow, and begin to bloom.
"The flowers, which are eternally born and eternally wither, continue to transform in the video, influenced by the viewer's accidental actions. The picture at this moment will never be seen again. Previous states will never be replicated, and the work will continue to be painted, just like an eternal story of life," said company representative Inoko Toshiyuki at a press preview. The work took approximately three to four months to complete, and was created by a staff of about 10 people. "For example, flowers bloom more in order to be chosen by bees. Because they cannot produce offspring on their own, they rely on bees to be chosen and pass on the legacy to the next generation. However, choosing a form that will be chosen by others is extremely precarious, and in some cases, it may be a form that is easily defeated by others. Ultimately, however, it is flowers—that is, angiosperms—that have reigned supreme on Earth. It is said that there are currently approximately 250,000 species identified. In contrast, there are approximately 800 types of gymnosperms and 1,000 types of seed plants. In other words, flowers that have chosen a symbiotic relationship have thrived, and we believe they are a 'symbiotic symbol,'" Inoko says. "You could even say that flowers and humans have a 'cultural symbiotic relationship,'" Inoko says. Touching the artwork, which uses the same mechanism as the touchscreen, will immerse you in the mysterious world of flowers, allowing you to fully experience the 'symbiosis' that Inoko speaks of.
During the exhibition, works by teamLab will also be on display in an 8m window facing Shinjuku Street.
[Event Information]
Infinity of Flowers
Venue: Gucci Shinjuku 3rd Floor Event Space
Address: Shinjuku Takano Building, 3-26-11 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku
Dates: September 13th to 28th
Time: 11:00 to 20:00
Free admission
