Enso - Gold Light

teamLab, 2017, Digital Installation, Continuous Loop

Enso - Gold Light

teamLab, 2017, Digital Installation, Continuous Loop

Enso is the Zen practice of drawing a circle with a single brushstroke. This artwork depicts enso drawn as Spatial Calligraphy. The brushstroke is suspended in space, but there are moments when its circular shape is revealed as the brushstroke rotates and shifts the viewpoint.

Spatial Calligraphy is a form of calligraphy drawn in space that teamLab has been exploring since it was founded. The artwork reconstructs calligraphy in three-dimensional space to express the depth, speed, and power of the brushstroke, and that calligraphy is then flattened using the logical structure of space that teamLab calls Ultrasubjective Space. The calligraphy shifts between two and three dimensions.

Back in ancient times, enso was drawn in space using sticks, to symbolize the concepts of enlightenment, truth, the universe, and equality, in a figurative manner. The circle is also a reflection of the viewer’s inner self, thus its interpretation depends on the viewer.