Celebrate Fukuyama Castle’s 400th anniversary with teamLab
The exhibition is being held from December 2, 2022, to January 29, 2023
Pairing up history with art comes teamLab’s “metamorphosis” of Japan’s Fukuyama Castle which still stands in the Hiroshima prefecture.
teamLab strikes again as they tap into a popular tourist destination to bring art and light to life against history. This year Fukuyama Castle celebrates its 400th anniversary and will host the ‘teamLab: Digitized Fukuyama Castle’ exhibition from December 2, 2022, to January 29, 2023.
The colourful display is part of the collective’s bigger digitalized city art project of transforming a city into pieces of art through digital technology, without changing the object’s original form.
Entry fees for this exhibition are JP¥ 1,500 for adults and JP¥ 600 for kids — not including the entry fees of the Fukuyama Castle Museum, O-yudono and Tsukimi Yagura Turret.
Some of the installations include, ‘Resisting and Resonating Ovoids on the Stones of Oblivion’ which are little ovoids placed on the foundation stones of the castle’s ruins prior to the atomic bomb back in World War II. Bigger ovoids take over other spaces in the form of ‘Resisting and Resonating Ovoids and Trees’, ‘Autonomous Resonating Life on the Water’ and ‘Forest of Autonomous Resonating Life’.
The ovoids scattered around the grounds reflect back towards the castle, causing an autonomous shift of rainbow shades that represents a long continuity of time.
Across the castle walls, calligraphy, carp and blooming flowers take over the space — all these pieces respond to touch which goes back to teamLab’s concept of creating an area where the behaviours of nature and humans have an effect on the nature of time.
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The historic location of Fukuyama Castle in Hiroshima has been part of the prefecture's landscape for centuries and after a two-year renovation, it's ready to celebrate its 400th year.
The original castle was built in 1590 and it is one of Japan’s top three flatland castles that avoided any government-based demotions during the Meiji era, standing as a national treasure. However, it was destroyed in WWII and it was reconstructed in 1966. The most recent renovation of the landmark started in August 2022 when the iron panelling on the north side of the castle was restored — it’s considered a one-of-a-kind piece in Japan.
Read this next: teamLab Planets Tokyo has transformed its outdoor digital monolith into a pillar of fire
Last month, teamLab created a permanent home in Beijing in the form of ‘Teamlab Massless’; one of the biggest spaces created for the Japanese art collective that holds over 40 installations.
Definitely worth the trip if you’re in Japan this winter holiday; more information on ‘teamLab: Digitized Fukuyama Castle’ here.
Miki Kitasako is Mixmag Asia’s Social Media and Content Producer, follow her on LinkedIn.
