Reflections
Olafur Eliasson
Light and fog, water and plate glass are the media used by the Danish installation artist Olafur Eliasson. His work teaches us what we have often already unlearnt due to stimulus satiation: to be aware of ourselves and our environment.
As Olafur Eliasson plunged into the light of an artificial sunset in the Spring of 2004 with his “Weather Project” at the Tate Gallery in London, seasoned connoisseurs flocked to see it. Who is the man who can bring about amazement and reflection in people with his armoury of technical equipment?
Olafur Eliasson, a Dane of Icelandic descent, was born in Copenhagen in 1967 where he later studied at the Royal Academy of Arts from 1989 1995. He officially lived and worked in Berlin. In reality he spent a lot of time travelling the world on matters of art.
The periodical “Kunstforum International” quoted Eliasson as saying: “I see myself as a mainstream artist, which is why it is easy to access my work.” However, it would be misguided to describe Eliasson as a type of variety artist, who creates magic with installations instead of with top hats and card tricks. The great amazement caused by viewing his work is always followed by a gain in knowledge. Therefore four central themes keep reoccurring, which are briefly explained later on: nature, light, architecture and – most importantly of all – interaction with the viewer.
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