Is this our future? A Robotic Art installation by Jason Bruges Studio

The Jason Bruges Studio will be presenting 'The Constant Gardeners', an unprecedented, large-scale, performative robotic art installation. On 28 July 2021, this installation will be unveiled in Ueno Park, Tokyo as part of the Tokyo Tokyo FESTIVAL Special 13. The robotic installation was commissioned by The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture) and is delivered in partnership with the British Council, as part of their UK/JAPAN bilateral season.

In this futuristic installation, Jason Bruges Studio explores the interrelationships between people, data, technology, and nature, creating spatial interventions that disrupt urban life and encourage visitors to slow down and reconnect with their surroundings. 'The Constant Gardeners' and the mesmerising raking of its ‘gardeners’ will offer visitors a peaceful space for quiet introspection in the heart of Tokyo’s cultural district.

This dynamic artwork draws inspiration from the aesthetic and craft of the traditional Zen garden and from the sportsmen and women who carefully hone and perfect their movements to train and excel in their fields. Using second-hand industrial robots reclaimed from a lifetime of working in factory foundries, Jason Bruges Studio visually reflects on the role of machines in our daily lives and suggests a new narrative around robotics, which highlights their potential for experimental creativity.

Spanning art, technology and sports, the outdoor installation will run in parallel to the Tokyo 2021 Olympic and Paralympic Games, combining cutting-edge computing and the ancient tradition of the Japanese Zen garden. Analysing past video footage from across a wide range of sporting disciplines and events, The Constant Gardeners will create a new visual language to communicate and celebrate the motion of the professional athletes and their feats of physical prowess.

The installation will produce dynamic, representative patterns, which ‘the gardeners’, a team of four industrial robot arms mounted on linear rails, will precisely rake into a large-scale gravel canvas, consisting of fourteen tonnes of crushed black basalt, surrounded by a further four tonnes of silver-grey granite. In a series of daily performances, ‘the gardeners’ will work together to create around one-hundred-and-fifty unique illustrations throughout the duration of the Tokyo 2021 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Some of the performances will showcase the story of an event unfolding over time, while others will shine a light on a single spectacular movement or sporting moment

About Jason Bruges Studio

Jason Bruges is a multi-disciplinary artist and designer based in London. Jason’s work blends architecture with interaction design and uses a high-tech, mixed media palette to explore spectacle, time-based interventions and dynamic spatial experiences. He is passionate about creating site-specific pieces that engage people with their environments.
In 2002 Jason set up the studio and now works with a talented team of people to develop and deliver interactive projects worldwide. The studio comprises of an experienced team of architects, artists, engineers and computational designers as well as specialists in electronics, programming and project management.
 

Exhibition Dates: 28 July - 5 September 2021
Address: Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan