The National Art Center, Tokyo
UNLIMITED SPACE — Spatial Sound Design
for The Kashiwa Sato Exhibition
From February 3 to April 24, 2021, I was responsible for the spatial sound design and music composition for UNLIMITED SPACE, a digital installation presented as part of The Kashiwa Sato Exhibition at the National Art Center, Tokyo.
UNLIMITED SPACE captured visitors in real time, generating visual forms based on search data and algorithmic processes.
In response to this highly abstract experience, the objective was not familiarity or emotional warmth, but to establish a distinctly high-tech, controlled, and precise sonic world.
At the early planning stage, the role of sound had not yet been clearly defined.
Rather than adding music after the visual concept was fixed, it was necessary to reconsider the relationship between image, space, and sound from the ground up.
I approached the project by designing the function of sound across the entire spatial experience—constructing an acoustic framework that quietly supports the contours of the installation without asserting itself.
Sound generation was implemented using the programming environment MAX/MSP.
Instead of relying on melody or rhythm, the sound was constructed according to the same conceptual logic as the visuals—algorithmic, abstract, and restrained.
While maintaining an intentionally inorganic quality, careful adjustments were made so that the sound would elicit a subtle bodily response only when aligned with the visuals.
The balance between detachment and physical comfort was treated with particular care.
Equally important was the decision not to foreground the music.
Sound was positioned as one element of the installation’s overall system, contributing to immersion without drawing attention to itself.
As a result, the sound functioned unobtrusively, supporting an experience in which visitors naturally paused, remained within the space, and became absorbed in the installation.
The exhibition was highly regarded, successfully conveying the relationship between brand, technology, and perception—not only visually, but as a fully embodied sensory experience.
