Doing a number on art

Sleek, digital, numbers-based—it must be mathematics, right? No, it’s art.

In this case, it’s “bubbles” in the water, a series of balls that hover in a tank of water as part of an exhibit by Japanese artist Tatsuo Miyajima. The famous art creator has been doing this kind of thing for years, so Miyajima fans (perhaps remembering 2003’s Counter Void) won’t be surprised by the content; however, the presentation is a whole new look. Each ball has a number in it. The numbers are LED, single-digit only, and the entire effect is that of a water lamp.

The “lamp” is part of a larger exhibit titled Fargile, which is running through April 8 at Scai The Bathhouse in Tokyo. For the record, the title of the lamp is C.F. Bubble in the Water.