Before heading to Tokyo, Japan, I asked my Facebook community for a few recommendations. I was connected with the exhibit “Borderless,” by TeamLab. After looking it up I remembered this was a place I’d always wanted to see. So, I bought my ticket online (you need to buy in advance), and on the day I arrived and waited in line ~ brace yourself ~ for an hour and half to get in. To be fair, I spent most of my waiting time in the Wendy’s next door because I was famished, and a group of Japanese girls standing behind me held my spot (angel-humans!).
Ok, now for the juicy stuff. After a little struggle with my ticket QR code, I walked in to find the best exhibit of my life. It’s an interactive display of lights and music. I’m a big fan of music festivals and interactive art, so this was exactly my type of thing. I spent 4 hours weaving through an open floor-plan, stepping into dark doorways that opened up into a whole new show. As you go up and down stairs, through passageways, and small and large spaces, you find new worlds of light to play with. Lights are projected on to you, illuminated characters on the walls will react to your movements, and your actions dictate what happens in the space. Essentially, there are no borders and you and all of the people playing around you are connected in creating the exhibit experience. That concept is perfectly in line with the meaning behind Bridge Over Distance, and did I mention I LOVE INTERACTIVE ART, so I basically found my new home.
Very soon into my visit I had this formative moment in one of the rooms. It’s this room of mirrors that has strands of glittering LED lights hanging from the ceiling. You may have seen pictures of it before…
It’s a super photogenic space, therefore, it’s very popular on Instagram. I wandered into the display and was mesmerized. I lost track of time there. And then I lost track of myself. I let the mirrors and sparkles take over and suddenly I was glued to my phone, trying to catch the perfect selfie. I searched for the perfect angle with no photobombers, and waited for this brilliant white light to come back. I waited an embarrassingly long amount of time. I swear it was probably 10-15 minutes of roaming around with my phone unlocked by my side, ready to shoot. I was thinking the lights were on some rotation, and this dreamy white glow would come back. After a while I gave up, ashamed of this self-absorbed behavior. I explored the space with my eyes again, instead of through the screen. That’s when I saw a subtle doorway in the corner. I walked through and found a triangular room, separated from the rest of the installation by a glass wall. An iPad control panel sat in the center. That’s when I realized, these lights aren’t on a timer, showcasing the same repetitive pattern. People are changing these lights. I walked up to the control panel, selected a graphic that I was drawn to, and swiped when I anticipated the ambient music was shifting to a new phrase. Suddenly the lights changed, and that white light I’d been searching for flooded the space. “Oohs” and “ahhs” filled the room as the sound and LEDs put on an ethereal show. The people around me and I broke into huge smiles and I started giggling, like a kid, with all the other kids. That feeling was more glittery than the lights…to make a room full of people so awestruck they couldn’t contain it.
So that made me think…that we have these moments in life where an opportunity will present itself and we need to be present enough and brave enough to jump in and take it. Because that’s your moment to create something beautiful. And if you hesitate you’ll miss your chance. Even if you try to go for it later, your act won’t have the same impact. Hesitation is a child of fear, which is protective, but more often than not leads to lost opportunities.
Speaking of children, I found a kids playground space, complete with trampolines, dynamic climbing spaces, and art stations. I sat down and colored with pastels (a medium I’ve been craving lately) and created a butterfly with mismatched colored wings. Then I took it to the scanner where a sign noted that your creation would be sent out into the exhibit. I didn’t realize how immediately it would appear until I started to walk away and some Japanese children began pointing excitedly at the floor. My two-tone butterfly fluttered out of the computer and took on a life of its own. It was simple but so satisfying, to see something you created come to life.
Another room that struck me was the Forest of Resonating Lamps. Here, when you stand close to a hanging lamp it emits a color that resonates out. It moves from lamp to lamp, combining with other people’s colors when they cross paths. It’s a beautiful concept, which lost a little of it’s touch in action, because of the way people chose to play. You are allowed less than a minute in the room, herded in and shuffled out in groups of about 20 at a time. In the scramble for the perfect Insta pic, everyone assumed position and played model and photographer, engaging with phones over the art, and over strangers. Visiting alone, I succumbed to the same behavior, snapping my selfies. But learning from my glitter experience, I put the phone down and looked around.
Ultimately we are all itty bitty people, constantly making decisions, and every little action we take impacts the world in some way. Take ownership of that, see the power and value of your role on the playground. And do what you want with that. For me, I want to play.
Bridge Over Distance 