You might think the whole ‘immersive exhibitions’ thing is a little overdone by now, but TeamLabs, a Tokyo-based art collective, has been serving up some of the biggest and best installations of their kind since the early ’00s – and now, they’re coming to Europe.
Where, you ask? Well, according to GlobeTrender, a brand-new UBS Digital Art Museum will be opening in Hamburg later this year, thanks to the work of tech entrepreneur Lars Hinriches, who kick-started this project after visiting teamLab’s Tokyo space.
Nestled in the HafenCity district, the museum will live in a whopping 6,500 square-metre space (with 12m-high ceilings) which has been purpose-built for the project, and teamLab Borderless will be the focal exhibition. Hundreds of projectors and loads of state-of the art tech will be used to maximise on the sensory experience.
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So, what’s so goddamn cool about it? Well, the exhibition isn’t just projections on walls – teamLabs transform the space into ‘living canvases’ which feature hanging lights to act as forests, as well as blooming flowers and tumbling waterfalls which actually respond to the movements of visitors.
It’s pretty different from just wandering through rooms full of pretty lights and quirky projections – instead, people become a part of the display. No wonder then that between April 2023 and March 2024, 2.5 million people headed to see teamLab’s work.
Those were at the collective’s venues in Asia and the Middle East, but if that’s a bit far to travel, don’t you worry. Tickets for the Hamburg museum are already on sale, and you can find them here.
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