☆☆☆Third report of Vincent Quiring, 24th scholarship holder of the GRÜNWALD foundation☆☆☆

Before I tell you about my stay in Tokyo with my friend Jannis, as described in my last report, I would like to share a few words about an exhibition by teamLab in Osaka. teamLab – “botanical garden” enchants visitors with elaborately designed natural elements, combined with a range of audiovisual content in an alternative, flowing reality. As I made my way through the crowds, which unfortunately took some of the charm out of the exhibition despite the late hour, I had a few thoughts and possible interpretations, which I would like to briefly record here. The theme of the exhibition was easy to observe, as almost every element offered an interactive experience that could only really unfold when a person interacted with the element. The exhibition is about connections and the networking of the respective elements with each other, most of them of plant origin, which become visible to people through added technology, such as lights and sounds. Within the exhibition, every visitor becomes part of this network.
If you move within the framework of an element, for example, it lights up brightly, whereupon neighboring elements are also activated and a chain reaction occurs in the room. As can be seen in the pictures below, this idea was used with plants, balls and shapes of all kinds, but also on displays.

(teamLab – botanical Garden)

The installation that I liked best by far was the one in which colored spirals appear on a display in the middle of a pond. This happens whenever a bird flies past the element. Extra plants were placed in the pond for the installation, which then attract insects to the element, which in turn attract the birds. The result is a life cycle that we as viewers can observe in color. The installation stretches out like a black canvas in the water, no bird flies past, and yet it shines so beautifully if one does. I wrote down a few thoughts about this at the time:
[…] If the birds don’t fly, the world sinks into a black cosmos of unthinkable reality; after all, we wouldn’t see the birds anyway because of the darkness. If they fly, the world binds itself once again to the splendor of the symbiotic existence of living beings – and yet they are only attracted by insects.
So we wait silently for movement. We literally slumber in the possibility of being moved again soon – aren’t we all waiting for someone to move us, for someone to knock us over, to change our color. […]

(Favorite element of the exhibition)

The last was mainly about the impressions of other installations in which the elements changed color when touched and exposed to external influences.

So the “botanical garden” exhibition by teamLab got me thinking again. After all, in my opinion, it was never really about the plants on display, even if the name of the exhibition initially suggests this. Rather, it was about a social network between people. Especially in this day and age, in which we find ourselves in war and injustice, both in the most brutal and ruthless way in the Middle East, as well as in areas of Ukraine, but also in many other situations, individuals also experience these wars on a daily basis in their immediate environment, be it at work, at school, with friends, but also at home. It is therefore of great importance to educate and raise awareness.
It is important to explain that every input is followed by an output, every action by a reaction. A sense of sensitivity and appreciation is truly a rarity in this day and age, which is why “botanical garden” is a wonderful example of a playful and enchanting way to provide information about this.

But now back to the trip to Tokyo. Jannis and I had rented an Airbnb in the northern part of Shinagawa. The very compact apartment, which was just enough for two people, was our home for almost seven days. From there, we set off on a new exploration tour every day, usually heading towards Shibuya first and then letting ourselves be carried away by the crowds.

(Shibuya)

The whole trip in Tokyo was a contrast between maximum tourism and quiet, lonely residential areas, possible retreats for the locals, as well as small, charming shrines and temples – quite a good mix!
We often lingered in Akihabara and were always amazed by the variety of small stores filled with anime/manga fan articles such as figures in all shapes and sizes. The variety of electronics stores, especially retro gaming and second-hand stores, also left us in great excitement. We bought old classic titles for the equivalent of just a few euros. This part of Tokyo seems to be entirely dedicated to entertainment and leisure. Surprisingly, however, this was very pleasant at times. In this day and age, we are inundated with new, negative information every day, experience stress and pressure from everyday life and carry our own little package of problems around with us. Sometimes it is pleasant to forget everything for a moment and indulge in colorful entertainment and distraction. Filled with memories of our still carefree childhood, such districts often make us forget the weight of life. Especially in a country like Japan, where work ethic and discipline play an essential role, it is very understandable to sometimes just want to dream again for a moment.

(Akihabara)

We had a similar experience when we visited a bird café! Neither Jannis nor I had ever had such an experience before – a café in the company of animals. What initially sounded like a weird, strange idea turned out to be incredibly interesting and fun in the end. Without realizing it, we spent about two hours in a huge bird cage. Around 100 birds were squawking in our ears, probably 5 of them constantly sitting on our heads and shoulders. It was a very magical moment, even if it wouldn’t happen naturally in the wild, to be literally “recognized” by birds, to appear worthy as a place to sit. Despite the morally questionable background of such cafés, it was a great pleasure for us to get a little closer to the animals.

(Birdcafe)

Finally, I would like to tell you about a very special evening in Tokyo. We were near Shibuya and, as we didn’t want to go back to the apartment yet, we wondered how we could make good use of the evening that had just begun. A recommendation on a Japanese website gave us the idea of going to a bar. So we set off to find it. Unfortunately, we never found it, but during our search we were attracted by another establishment from which loud, joyful music could be heard. A rickety spiral staircase on the outside of a dilapidated house front in a small alleyway led the way to the place in question. When we entered, we were looked at very puzzled, I said to Jannis that it was perhaps a private event and that we should better leave, but after a short time a very friendly waitress came to us and explained the bar’s entrance fee. Just as we were about to pay, she briefly quibbled, as if she had changed her mind. She said that as the bar would be closing shortly, we could enter for free. Of course, we didn’t need to be told twice and quickly entered. The bar was a small, very pleasant room with a very warm and lavish interior and decoration. There were several DJs playing, who, to my delight, were spinning vinyl records.

(Bar)

We really enjoyed the time. There was an incredibly free and carefree atmosphere in the room. Dancers invited us to dance, others to have interesting conversations.
However, when the bar closed as announced, the artists went through the entire audience to personally thank everyone for their time. This had never happened to me before and yet I was very happy about it, as it reinforced the connection that had been built up with the artists and other visitors throughout the evening. It was a flattering feeling to have the host personally thank you for your visit!
The whole audience felt like a cohesive, yet open to making new acquaintances, group of friends who just wanted to enjoy the evening. This event made me very happy.

(Tokio at night)

After an exciting 7 days we drove back to Osaka together, Jannis to spend a few more days outside of Tokyo before flying back to Germany, me to get back to my usual small daily tasks 🙂

(Visit at Katsuo ji Temple)

I would like to thank you for the time and the many new impressions I was able to experience and hope that many more will follow!
Many thanks

Vincent Quiring