teamLab has been invited by Tolarno Galleries in association with Martin Browne Contemporary to create the solo exhibition teamLab: Reversible Rotation, showcasing four monitor artworks. The exhibition will be viewable from October 5 until November 2, 2019 at Tolarno Galleries in Melbourne, Australia.

This exhibition will feature four monitor works in various scales. Each work explores the concept of what teamLab has termed “Ultrasubjective Space:” the “flat” spatial theory prevalent in ancient Japanese artworks and picture scrolls, wherein the viewer does not hold a dominant perspective over the subject matter, but is instead immersed as part of the world of the artwork.

Tolarno Galleries is known as one of Australia’s most stimulating exhibitors of contemporary art and design. Established in 1967, it has a rich history of presenting innovative and challenging work and of nurturing artists through their careers. The dynamic exhibition program, ranging from video, film, photography and installation, to painting, sculpture, digital media and cutting edge design, attracts the attention of collectors, curators and critics from around the globe.

Exhibition Details: https://www.teamlab.art/e/tolarno2019/

Tolarno Galleries: https://tolarnogalleries.com/

[Featured Works]

Waves of Light

teamLab, 2018, Digital Work, 12 channels, Continuous Loop

Artwork Website: https://www.teamlab.art/w/waves-of-light

Video: https://youtu.be/3wiVk56khIk

The movement of waves in water is simulated in a computer-generated three-dimensional space. The water is expressed as a continuous body after calculating the interactions of hundreds of thousands of particles. To visualize the waves, the behavior of the particles of the water was then extracted and lines were drawn in relation to the movement of the particles. The wave created in a 3-D space is then turned into an artwork in accordance with what teamLab refers to as ultrasubjective space.

In premodern Japanese painting, oceans, rivers, and other bodies of water were expressed as a series of lines. These lines give the impression of life, as though water was a living entity.  

This form of expression leads us to question why premodern people sensed life in rivers and oceans. Also, why did they behave as if they themselves were a part of nature? Perhaps something can be discovered by fusing the fixed objective world of today’s common knowledge with the subjective world of premodern people.

While viewing this artwork, if we feel a sense of life in the collection of lines—what can be called the subjective world of premodern people—then perhaps this is one aspect of objective recognition.

When viewing this artwork, as opposed to watching waves shot with a video camera, people may feel that the barrier between themselves and the waves disappears. They feel immersed in the work, perhaps even feeling life in the collection of lines, as if the waves are luring them in. Perhaps we can find a connection to the way premodern Japanese people perceived the world and consequently behaved toward the world.

If we regard ourselves as a part of nature, and consider nature not just as something to be observed, we might join premodern people in perceiving rivers and oceans as living entities. This is a way of seeing the world that lures us in and allows us to feel that there is no boundary between ourselves and nature.

Enso - Cold Light

teamLab, 2018, Digital Work, Single channel, Continuous Loop

Artwork Website: https://www.teamlab.art/w/enso-coldlight

Video: https://youtu.be/DBOX3r-UAr8

Enso is the Zen practice of drawing a circle with a single brush stroke. This artwork depicts an Enso drawn as Spatial Calligraphy. The brush stroke is suspended in space but the viewpoint changes to reveal the circle Enso. teamLab has been working on Spatial Calligraphy since the collective formed. A new interpretation of traditional calligraphy, Spatial Calligraphy reconstructs calligraphy in three-dimensional space and expresses the depth, speed and power of the brush stroke. 

In Zen, enso is a circle that has since ancient times been written with canes or sticks in midair. It is said to represent enlightenment, truth, the entirety of the universe, and equality. The circle also reflects the hearts and minds of those who view it, with its interpretation left to the individual. 

Reversible Rotation - Black in White

teamLab, 2019, Digital Work, 7 channels, Continuous Loop

Artwork Website: https://www.teamlab.art/w/reversible-black-in-white/

Reversible Rotation - Cold Light

teamLab, 2019, Digital Work, Single channel, Continuous Loop

Artwork Website: https://www.teamlab.art/w/reversible-coldlight/

The Spatial Calligraphy rotates in the artwork space, every aspect rotating in the same direction. But because of the special characteristics of Ultrasubjective Space, it can appear to be rotating clockwise or counterclockwise. 

Spatial Calligraphy is Japanese sho (calligraphy) drawn in space. The artwork reconstructs sho in three dimensional space to express the depth, speed and power of the brush stroke, and that sho is then flattened using the logical structure teamLab calls Ultrasubjective Space.

[Exhibition Summary]

teamLab: Reversible Rotation

https://www.teamlab.art/e/tolarno2019/

#teamLab

Dates: October 5 - November 2, 2019

Hours: Tuesday - Friday 10:00 - 17:00, Saturday 13:00 - 17:00

Venue: Tolarno Galleries (Level 4, 104 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, Australia)

https://tolarnogalleries.com/

[Tolarno Galleries]

Tolarno Galleries is known as one of Australia’s most stimulating exhibitors of contemporary art and design. Established in 1967, it has a rich history of presenting innovative and challenging work and of nurturing artists through their careers.

In the early years, exhibitions by modern masters including Bonnard, Dali, Chagall, Matisse, Picasso, Pissarro, Renoir and Vuillard, were shown alongside new works by Rauschenberg, Johns, Rosenquist, Warhol, LeWitt and Koons. Significant bodies of work were shown by the pioneering Australian modernists Charles Blackman, John Brack, Arthur Boyd, Joy Hester and Albert Tucker.

In more recent times, four artists have represented Australia at the Venice Biennale: Patricia Piccinini (2003), Howard Arkley (1999), Judy Watson (1997) and Bill Henson (1995). The dynamic exhibition program, ranging from video, film, photography and installation, to painting, sculpture, digital media and cutting edge design, attracts the attention of collectors, curators and critics from around the globe.