Where Technology Meets Art
In the far-flung future of 2022, technology has progressed beyond anyone’s wildest imagination. Elon Musk’s Neuralink is entering preparation stages for human clinical trials, nuclear fusion reactors are sparking hope for increasing energy demands and AI has allowed scientists to publish the first end-to-end genome map in human existence.
Technology is also making significant moves in the global entertainment and arts industries. With developments in lighting, sound, digital media, virtual reality, and augmented reality, immersive art experiences are becoming a worldwide phenomenon. From the likes of the international art collective teamLab, to the Las Vegas-based AREA15 please see the most innovative and avant-garde digital arts experiences from across the globe.
teamLab
Founded in Tokyo by Toshiyuki Inoko, this international art collective has been at the forefront of the immersive digital art movement since 2001. With a collaborative practice that seeks to incorporate art, science, technology and the natural world, teamLab has created exceptional experiences which have been displayed across the globe.
From permanent large-scale exhibitions in Tokyo, Macao, and Shanghai, teamLab has grand plans to expand its global footprint to Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Hamburg, Jeddah and Utrecht. Additionally, teamLab has also displayed its works in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Istanbul, and Helsinki.
Using interactive visual states, transformative soundscapes, unique shape projections, traditional Japanese iconography and artworks, and much more, teamLab can create unparalleled artistic experiences and transform perceptions surrounding an artwork’s theme. This has in turn awed an international audience and created a devoted following to witness what teamLab will produce next.
AREA15
An experiential entertainment complex located one mile from the Las Vegas strip, AREA15 boasts a plethora of immersive experiences, digital art exhibitions, unique rides, themed restaurants and bars, interactive VR stories, and games. Having opened in 2020, AREA15 is home to Meow Wolf’s (an American-based Art Collective) Omega Mart which provides visitors which an opportunity to explore an extraordinary supermarket and discover various portals to surreal art-filled landscapes.
With artistic references to countless cultures, traditions and pop-culture icons, AREA15 has become an attraction outside the stereotypical Las Vegas casino and hotel environment. Burning man sculptures, giant abstract murals, art galleries, blacklights, a 12 ft tall 360-degree projection mapped skull, an artificial LED Japanese maple tree, a state-of-the-art cinematic immersion experience, and a wide selection of VR adventures reveal a fraction of what AREA15 offers.
SuperBlue
Based in Miami, Florida, SuperBlue seeks to support the world’s most innovative artists and create experiences that are as meaningful as they are captivating. Opening their first location in 2021, SuperBlue has curated visually transcendent exhibitions from the already mentioned teamLab, the groundbreaking RANDOM INTERNATIONAL and “augmented materiality” installations by Studio INI to name a select few.
With an aim to encourage guests to explore art outside of traditional museums and galleries, SuperBlue is meeting the recent surge in demand for experiential art and is planning to expand across the USA and into international markets.
Culturespaces
Founded in 1990 by Bruno Monnier, Culturespaces began its journey managing various monuments, museums, and art venues in France. Throughout the organisation’s history, Culturespaces has created a foundation to promote access to the arts for disadvantaged children, introduced its first digital immersive exhibition in 2012 and made ripples across the digital art world in 2018 by launching its first digital art centre in Paris called the Atelier des Lumières.
Additionally, in late 2018 Culturespaces, alongside Tmonet, opened Bunker des Lumières in South Korea with a suite of state-of-the-art digital projection and sound technologies. The arts organisation has since expanded its global presence with venues in New York, Bordeaux, Dubai and more planned for the future.
Besides running permanent venues around the world, Culturespaces also creates and curates a wide selection of digitalised art exhibitions throughout France and tours programmes internationally. These exhibitions have included works from the likes of Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Cezanne, Kandinsky and many more.
VJ Suave
Based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, VJ Suave is a new media art duo specialising in various digital mediums. By creating unique hand-drawn animations, VJ Suave projects colourful stories onto blank urban surfaces. Using this method, the duo can blend technology and art with a city’s architecture to illuminate buildings’ walls, park environments, and more.
VJ Suave has also dived into virtual reality. Using the latest technology combined with indigenous histories, the duo has created an experience that seeks to form relationships and explore a living environment. Additionally, the duo has produced installations that include adapting their VR experiences and projected animations into a variety of artistic projects.
VJ Suave has also toured the world and visited countless countries like Colombia, the USA, Kuwait, Taiwan, Bahrain, China, Portugal, France, Estonia, Singapore, and the UK.
ENESS
Founded in 1997, ENESS is a Melbourne-based art and technology studio that seeks to create evocative interactive experiences. With a creative team including artists, musicians, software engineers, industrial designers and a writer, ENESS has produced a wide range of permanent sculptures, temporary art installations, interactive experiences, and artful play equipment.
Using 3D projection mapping and interactive real-time motion tracking, ENESS have toured their works far and wide, from the likes of Taipei to London, and Washington D.C. to Riyadh. Over the organisation’s lifespan, ENESS has also accumulated a series of noteworthy accolades, including awards from the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York and the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo.
Ego
A lone digital artist based in Melbourne, Ego works across various media platforms including video, web, projection, augmented and virtual reality, print, and audio-visual performance. Known to focus on themes of escapism by creating exotic new worlds or exploring the treasures in our reality, Ego utilises vivid colours and high-impact visuals to excite audiences.
From large, mapped projections onto heritage-listed buildings to augmented reality murals, Ego has created many creative works across Australia and the world. Notably, Ego has produced accoladed audio-visual content for countless DJ sets and has performed in South Africa and art galleries in Colombia to Falls Festival and Splendour in the Grass throughout Australia.