20 August,2026 09:24 AM IST | Mumbai | Devashish Kamble
PICS/DEVASHISH KAMBLE
The toughest venue to enter in Bandra these days is not an Insta-trending artisanal café, or an exclusive nightclub. It's an experiential tech-meets-art exhibition spanning four floors at the NMACC in Bandra Kurla Complex. A two-week-long wait for a slot, one if you're lucky, opens the doors to Second Nature by Superblue, the Asia debut of a series of nine installations by world-renowned artists and studios Random International, teamLabs, AA Murakami, Simon Heijdens, and Es Devlin.
Best explained as being dropped inside an artist's imagination, rather than simply viewing an artwork, the limited-time experience harnesses the power of projection mapping, motion sensing cameras, and real-time data to allow you to touch, shape, and morph what the canvas depicts.
TILL January 2027; 11 am onwards (slots of 45 minutes each)
AT Art House, NMACC, G Block, Bandra Kurla Complex.
LOG ON TO nmacc.com
ENTRY Rs 300 onwards; Rs 100 (for senior citizens and students)
This opening piece on Level 1 by Random International is a large white canvas on which a sliding photochromic printer prints fleeting human faces, before they dissolve into nothingness. These are faces of our fellow-visitors, captured in real-time by a camera. The piece asks us to question our relationship with facial detection systems, which are becoming both more widespread and discreet. For now, smile, please!
We made our longest halt exploring this TeamLabs room of large self-balancing bean-shaped glass bodies (ovoids) placed on the floor. When touched or pushed, an ovoid emits a celestial sound, and a glowing light. Ovoids nearby respond in a chain reaction, emitting a unique note, filling the room with a harmonious background score. While we don't recall seeing similar instructions at the Tokyo venue, Mumbaikars get a clear instruction: Don't kick the ovoids. We felt that one in the gut.
Having visited teamLabs' flagship experience in Tokyo, this writer was excited for Level 2, the team's debut in India. Nirvana comes closest to the memorable experience. Inspired byJapanese artist Ito Jakuchu, tens of thousands of square pixels come together to portray a sparkling, seamless floral canvas that stretches across walls. The flowers scatter on touch and respond to movement, reminding us of the sensitive nature of human-nature coexistence.
This towering artificial tree on Level 3 comes from the Japanese-English duo AA Murakami. Balls of mist form like flowers and make a gentle freefall from the branches, bursting on contact. We learn that the balls represent the fragility and impermanence of life. This is also the first room where visitors can sit down for a breather, although we'd recommend senior citizens practise caution. One of our fellow-visitors hit the ground, not nearly as graciously as the mist balls, when a bench lost its balance.
>> While the exhibition is dwarfed by its international counterparts in scale, the experiences kept us engaged for the entire 45 minutes.
>> The interactive rooms can spark a new interest for art in children as well as senior citizens, as we observed during our visit.
A notable mention, Lightweeds by Simon Heijdens presents an ecosystem of digital plants that react to real-time conditions
>> Multiple rooms involve mirrors and reflective surfaces on the ground. Refer to the website for guidelines on preferable attire before arriving for the experiential walkthrough.
>> The staff outside each room is briefed about the technology and intricacies behind the installations. Don't forget to stop by for a short chat if you have questions.
>> Explore one floor fully before moving to the next. Repeated climbs and descends can get tiring if you wish to move between rooms later.
