EXHIBITION: teamLab Biovortex Kyoto

Feb 19
3 min read

Mirrored room with red lanterns reflected infinitely. A person stands amid the surreal, glowing scene, creating a dreamy atmosphere.

On 3 December 2025, I visited the permanent exhibition teamLab Biovortex Kyoto with a timed ticket booked for 2pm, priced at approximately A$50. The exhibition is a large-scale immersive digital environment created by the Japanese art collective teamLab. The installation unfolds through a sequence of interconnected rooms where projected light, sound, and digital animation respond to the presence and movement of visitors.

Mosaic wall with "teamLab★ Biovortex KYOTO" text in white against a green and blue tiled background, creating a modern and artistic feel.

Photos 3-5: © teamLab, Flowers and People, Cannot be Controlled but Live Together (2014), interactive endless installation, sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Rather than presenting individual artworks on walls, the exhibition operates as a continuous spatial experience. Visitors move through darkened rooms filled with built installations and animated projections that cover the walls, floors, and ceilings. Colour, light, and shifting patterns surround the body, creating environments that change as people move through them. In some spaces the projections respond directly to gestures and movement, while in others the digital imagery dissolves, multiplies, or flows across surfaces, producing the sensation of being inside a dynamic visual system.

The exhibition explores relationships between humans, technology, and nature. Digital flowers bloom and disappear, particles drift through space, and landscapes transform in response to visitors. These environments blur the boundaries between artwork, architecture, and audience participation.

The installation demonstrates the ambition of contemporary immersive digital art. Through projection mapping, sensors, and real-time rendering, teamLab dissolves the traditional distance between viewer and artwork. Instead of observing from outside, visitors become part of the environment itself. This participatory structure challenges conventional gallery experiences by replacing static viewing with movement and interaction.

However, the exhibition also raises questions about the influence of social media on how audiences engage with art. The space attracts large crowds, and many visitors spend significant time photographing or filming themselves within the installations. While the works are visually striking and highly photogenic, this behaviour often shifts attention toward capturing images rather than experiencing the work directly.

The scale of the installation can also feel overwhelming. Multiple rooms filled with moving imagery, sound, and large numbers of people create an intense sensory environment. Although visually impressive, the constant stimulation can become tiring and leaves limited space for quiet reflection.

From a personal perspective, the experience was both extraordinary and exhausting. Some rooms were visually breathtaking and created moments where the work felt alive and responsive. At the same time, the crowds, queues for photographs, and sensory intensity required patience. It took six hours to move through the exhibition.

Despite these challenges, the exhibition remains technically remarkable. It demonstrates how digital art can transform architectural space into an immersive environment that visitors physically inhabit.

Abstract scene with vibrant blue and purple lights creating a digital, futuristic pattern. Bright pixels evoke a sense of motion and energy.

Photo 6-9: © teamLab, Infinite Crystal World (2018), from the series © Crystal Tree (2013), interactive endless installation, sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Photo 10-11: © teamLab, Forest of Resonating Lamps: One Stroke - a Year in the Mountains (2024), interactive endless installation, sound: Hideaki Takahashi, Production Support: Hirohito Saito (OryZa Design), Shinya Yoshida (SYD INC.)

Photos 12-17: © teamLab, Morphing Continuum (2025), installation, sound: Hideaki Takahashi, Environment Support: Takasago Thermal Engineering

Abstract image with vibrant orange and yellow patterns resembling coral, set against a dark background. Energetic and dynamic mood.

Photo 19-24: teamLab, Massless Amorphous Sculpture (2020), installation, sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Photo 25: © teamLab, Megaliths in the Open Universe (2025), interactive installation, sound: Hideaki Takahashi; Photo 26: © teamLab, Sea of Solidified Light (2025), interactive installation, sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Photo 27: © teamLab, Spherical Crystallized Light (2024), interactive endless installation, sound: Hideaki Takahashi; Photos 28-29: © teamLab, Cognitive Solidified Spark (2022), installation, sound: teamLab

Photo 30: © teamLab, Resonating Microcosms - Solidified Light (2022), interactive endless installation, sound: Hideaki Takahashi, Production Support: Hirohito Saito (OryZa Design), Shinya Yoshida (SYD INC.) Photo 31: © teamLab, Forest of Flow and Light (2025), interactive installation, sound: Hideaki Takahashi

teamLab 2026, teamLab Biovortex Kyoto, teamLab, viewed 20 March 2026, <https://www.teamlab.art/e/kyoto/>.