Art collective teamLab and tea brand EN TEA’s collaboration, EN TEA HOUSE – Genkatei is open for a limited time at Mifuneyama Rakuen in Kyushu’s Takeo Hot Springs until Nov 5. EN TEA HOUSE – Genkatei, where visitors drink digitally drawn flowers that bloom infinitely in the tea, is taking place as part of teamLab’s open-air exhibition in an ancient forest, teamLab: A Forest Where Gods Live, held in Mifuneyama Rakuen park from summer to fall each year.
What is the mission behind EN TEA HOUSE?
It is an alliance between teamLab, which seeks to reinterpret the cultural background of food and expand on it through digital art, and EN TEA, a tea brand that pursues ‘beautiful tea’.
The artwork exhibited inside EN TEA HOUSE – Genkatei, Flowers Bloom in an Infinite Universe inside a Teacup, is created when there is tea in the cup. When the teacup is lifted, the flower petals scatter and spread outside of the cup. The flowers bloom infinitely as long as there is tea, and the tea becomes an infinite world in which the flowers continue to bloom. Visitors drink in this expanding world, and when the tea is gone, the artwork disappears with it.
teamLab’s annually held nighttime outdoor exhibition teamLab: A Forest Where Gods Live, where EN TEA HOUSE – Genkatei is located, incorporates nature and ruins in more than 20 artworks, creating an interactive art space through nature and digital technology in the ancient vast forest. The impressive exhibition is on view through November 5, 2023.
Where can you glimpse EN TEA HOUSE?
EN TEA HOUSE – Genkatei is open in the same park as teamLab’s teamLab: A Forest Where Gods Live, taking place at Mifuneyama Rakuen in Kyushu. teamLab, Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and Boats – Mifuneyama Rakuen Pond © teamLab.
EN TEA HOUSE is currently on permanent exhibit in Beijing, Shanghai, and Macao, and will open in more places worldwide including Jeddah. At EN TEA HOUSE in Beijing, visitors can drink tea in an expansive space filled with countless spheres of light and spheres of darkness.
The tea lights up, and when lifted, it glows strongly and the glow spreads to the surrounding spheres, one after another. Although the spheres are clearly visible to the eye as though the light is solidified, they can’t be touched or grasped because they do not exist in the physical space, questioning the notion of existence. Each cup blinks at a different rhythm, but in time the rhythms between nearby teas synchronize thanks to a spontaneous order phenomenon.
The tea glows with colors. When viewed from a distance, the color of the tea’s light is the same, but when people look closely, it is continually changing, creating the notion of time.
At EN TEA HOUSE – Genkatei in Macao, the artworks Flowers Bloom in an Infinite Universe inside a Teacup and Tea Tree can be experienced. In the work Tea Tree, when the frozen green tea is placed on the table, tea branches grow from it. Flowers bloom from branches around the end of autumn. As you move the frozen tea, the branches wither and grow again in a new place. When the frozen tea disappears, the tea branches also wither and disappear.
At EN TEA HOUSE – Otoro where teamLab’s artwork featuring resonating lamps expands across the space, visitors can enjoy EN TEA and confectionery to accompany the tea.
