These rooms have five windows. The scenery outside them is moving very, very slowly.

With visuals and audio constantly running for 24 hours, this art room is like an installation space that lets you feel as if you are gazing through a window at a wonderful view. There are five videos that continuously transform, moment by moment, so slowly that the change can’t be perceived by humans. The views outside these “windows” take one week to complete a full cycle. Please lay on the bed and take your time to watch their transformations. These are small art rooms, fit just for one person to float in, like virtual space. When you wake up in the morning, you’ll see a different landscape through these windows.

Daito Manabe is not only an artist who uses his work to represent the modern era, but he is also an interaction designer, programmer, and a DJ. In order to get a peek at his thinking in creating this piece, let's ask the talented man himself about his art.

ーーPlease introduce yourself.

My name is Daito Manabe. I make artworks using programming and software engineering.

ーーI’d like to ask you about your pieces called “continuum”. First, please give us a summary of these spaces.

Since these pieces would be in a hotel room, I thought that guests would have a really long time to experience them. I usually make pieces for art museums or live music clubs or theaters, so I wanted to make something for a different time frame, and that was my first inspiration. And since it’s a room where someone could stay for 24 hours, listening and watching, I wanted to make it a piece that, if you did stay and listen, you would start to lose track of time and become lost in the space.

You can’t really tell that the room has changed as you listen. But if you take a snapshot of a moment of time, you’ll see that the videos have changed, and the music has changed too. It’s a piece that transforms very, very slowly.

ーーThere are five monitors in each space, and the videos on them are very slowly moving. If you were to put into words what those videos show, what would you say?

A virtual light source is constantly moving, though that light itself is both in the monitor and inside the room. The true location of the light can only be seen through the monitor. Like, you can watch the virtual lights and shadows through the “window” monitors. In that sense, since it’s using imaginary lights and shadows, it’s virtual, or maybe like Augmented Reality.

ーーCan I ask you about the meaning and intention behind the title “continuum”?

I chose “continuum” because the music and the videos are continuously playing. Also, “continuum” is a song by one of my favorite bassists of all time, Jaco Pastorius. I really love that song; it drew me to it. I thought maybe people who know the song would see this room and understand.

ーーSince it’s a place you can stay and enjoy for 24 hours, rather than it being a piece with quick impact, your feelings gradually change while you experience it over a long period of time. From many of the other artists, we’ve heard the word “meditation” or “zen” used in relation to this piece. What are your thoughts on the possibilities and charms of being face-to-face with this piece for a long period of time?

Actually, I think this is pretty hard. I want to tell people to sit and look at the piece for a long time, but I know that eventually people will start checking their social media and stuff. Nowadays, we don’t have any empty space in our lives. In the past, like when we were waiting for someone, we didn’t have anything to do while we were waiting, and we could actually experience boredom. When I was young I used to have that restless boredom where I didn’t know how to kill time, but nowadays we have so many ways to do that. .The rhythm of our daily lives leaves no empty space. So in those rooms, I hope people can spend time just spacing out, being comfortable with not thinking about anything, to experience a time when they are not cramming themselves with information.

ーーLastly, a few words for the guests staying in these rooms, please.

These days, I feel that we have too few chances to really sit and listen to something. In the past, we didn’t have many speakers and other things to play loud music. I think, when I was little, we used to tune our ears to the sound of insects around us and just listen. I’d like you to really draw out your senses to the best of your abilities. I’d like it if you could open up your ears, focus your eyes, and really take time to experience the piece.