Olafur Eliasson is a Danish-Icelandic artist who resides in Berlin. His work is largely research-led, and focuses on sustainability and climate action. I am inspired by the inclusion of natural phenomena in his work, which allows us to see beauty in occurrences that are completely ordinary to us, such as light shining through mist, or the familiar trajectory of the sun. He achieves this by reducing them down to their most simple components. Your Circadian Embrace features a simple beam of sunlight that, when shone through a prismatic ring suspended from the ceiling creates circles and arcs of colourful light on the surrounding walls. By isolating these phenomena, we are given a new, outside perspective on them which allows us to contemplate their complexity and scale, giving us a sense of our own position within the universe. In his own words:
“To track the sun is to track yourself, because the sun tracker locates the centre of your orbital ellipse, giving your position right now and rendering visible your path. The reflexive potential lies in understanding that we are not the centre of the universe, but are in a way the mirrors, circulating, tracking, spinning in concert with others.”
Your Circadian Embrace, Olafur Eliasson, 2023
Beauty, Olafur Eliasson, 1993, Moderna Museet, Stockholm 2015 Photo: Anders Sune Berg
Eliasson’s work also comments on the role of artist, art and viewer. Beauty is an artwork that is completed by the viewer. It consists of a precisely positioned white spotlight shone through a curtain of mist, and as the light is refracted by the water droplets, it creates a flowing spectrum of colour. The experience of the viewer depends on their position and how they receive the refracted light that meets their eye
Eliasson works in an inter-disciplinary way, and leads Studio Olafur Eliasson, an extensive network comprised of skilled specialists, including researchers, archivists, designers, architects, craftspeople, engineers, art historians, conservators, programmers and others. It is inspirational to see a working example of how art and sciences can intersect, and how humans can work together, drawing on each other’s strengths in order to solve problems and create a better world.