Over a dozen installations are bringing Japan’s 5,000,0000-square-foot Mifuneyama Rakuen to life, combining nature with cultural traditions and modern technology in dazzling and moving ways.
Designed by TeamLab, this exhibition incorporates a sweeping landscape of lakes, mountains and forests as well as ancient structures, some predating the park (which itself is nearly 200 years old).
Their driving idea: create new immersive interactions with nature without doing any damage, using an array of lighting techniques to facilitate a unique nighttime experience. In some places, abstract lighting patterns contrast with or highlight natural elements, like koi fish swimming in a lake — in other instances, projections of scanned nature illustrate the cycle of seasons in underground caves.
“Winding promenades, a picturesque pond and an ancient villa-turned-tea house blend seamlessly with the natural surroundings, blurring the borders between wild and manmade,” reports DesignBoom. “High above, the monumental mifuneyama mountain watches over an active and lush ecosystem of sacred trees, ancient stones, hidden caves, and a diverse community of flora and fauna. It is a peaceful and poetic place that induces a deep sense of contemplation and calm. Serenity lives here.”
Visitors can journey through this hybrid wonderland moving from one exhibition to the next in sequence, or simply get lost in the trails that open each evening as the sun goes down. The project, titled “A Forest Where Gods Live,” is open through this fall.
