I’m glad to share that Sound Swarm will be on view at xlab Showcase 2026 at the University of Tokyo.

Hosted by Yasuaki Kakei Laboratory at The University of Tokyo, this year’s exhibition—“This is not ice”—explores how reality is not fixed, but continuously formed through interaction between materials, environments, people, and information.

The theme draws inspiration from René Magritte’s Ceci n’est pas une pipe, reframing matter not as static object, but as something emergent—always “not yet,” “no longer,” and “becoming.”

Within this context, Sound Swarm presents a distributed field of autonomous sonic nodes. Each sustains a single tone. There is no melody or rhythm; instead, harmonic presence reorganizes through asynchronous swells and spatial repositioning. Visitors shift the topology of the system, and the sound field quietly reconfigures in response—an acoustic ecology shaped by proximity, listening, and collective interaction.

The showcase includes installations, interfaces, prototypes, a poster session, and a talk featuring architect Yuko Nagayama.

Exhibition

Dates: February 20–22, 2026 (12:00–19:00)
Venue: Faculty of Engineering Building 2, Hongo Campus, University of Tokyo
Admission: Free (advance registration required)

Details & registration:
https://xlab.iii.u-tokyo.ac.jp/showcase2026/

If you’re in Tokyo, I’d be grateful for your visit.