TeamLab Global Director Takashi Kudo on TeamLab Borderless' Move to Azabudai

TeamLab Borderless: MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM is set to open at its new location at Azabudai Hills on February 9, 2024. At a recent sneak peek event showcasing two of the new works- the Light Sculpture series and Microcosmoses - Wobbling Light- we asked Global Brand Director Takashi Kudo to talk about teamLab’s thinking behind the move and the philosophy and intentions behind the latest work.

The conversation started with the reasons behind the move from Odaiba to Azabudai HIlls, Mr. Kudo was frank, “We didn’t have a choice. When we opened, no one expected it would be a success, but a lot of people came. But we had to shut down. We wanted to make progress... borderless. Mori Building is our partner, and they gave us this opportunity.” Mr. Kudo added, “Not only Azabudai. We don’t create something for a specific location.”

When asked, what are the challenges behind a new space, Mr. Kudo admitted that “making a new exhibition is always a challenge... We don’t know how many people are going to be interested in us. We think it is beautiful, but we don’t know if others will feel the same way. The challenging part is we said it’s more borderless, but what is more borderless? How do we make people feel more immersed? Compared to 2018, the situation is different. We don’t have any answer. We are a team, and we try to create as a team. We make small updates and small changes... that is the challenge.”

Visitors will be curious as to what is new and what is a continuation of the previous space. Mr. Kudo answered philosophically, saying, “Sometimes people think digital art is a completely new thing. Like any art, it is based on stock knowledge. It seems new, but we [have] evolved from ten years ago. Our software is updated. Now we can control more things. But even a masterpiece by Picasso is created on something from before. It is based on past experience and updated. Some people may feel it’s the same thing, but for us, it is completely different.”

A highlight of the preview was the interactive installation Light Sculpture, a series of 15 works made up of hundreds of LED lamps creating clouds, vortices, abysses, and more. Expounding on the “borderless” concept,” Mr. Kudo explained, “Borders are human-made, there is no border. What we are creating is a vortex. A vortex seems to exist, but there is no boundary. But a vortex exists on the floor of the ocean. The border is made from the shape of the ground, the islands, temperature. We thought maybe we could create something like this. As if made without material... Our artwork is just light and software, so it can disappear anytime... like life.”