Exhibition: Olafur Eliasson
In Real Life- Olafur Eliasson exhibition see’s what I like to call interactive art, where, light, angles, sculpture and water evoke thoughts and stimulate the senses. The exhibition saw over forty works of art made between the present day and 1990, by the Danish-Icelandic artist. His body of work includes installations sculptures, painting and photography. Through his time spent in Iceland its clear to see his connection and love for nature and the environment. The materials used in his body of work ranged from moss, light, reflective metals, fog and water. Upon exiting the lift on the floor of the exhibition you are flooded with orange light, to me it was like being on Mars, a scene from Total Recall. It was a preview of what was to come in the exhibition.
I took two trips to the exhibition, the first on my own and the second with my daughter whom I've taken to both of the Tate galleries in London to see Frank Bowling at Tate Britain and Faith Ringgold at the Serpentine this year. I wanted to see what she thought of the gallery environment and of different types of art in general. I'm a firm believer of how important it is to open to a child's mind to art, exploring different colours, cultures, shapes and sounds. Needless to say she is vocal with what art she does like and what she deems as 'not good', In Real Life did not disappoint and its certain to say it was the exhibition she enjoyed the most this year.
A few favourites are listed below...
Moss Wall 1994
This piece got more intriguing the closer you got, from a distance it could resemble many things, coral, cauliflower or flowers. But upon close inspection you can see it is actually reindeer moss , you just want to reach out and sink your fingers into.
Beauty, 1993
Saw people of all ages, the use of water, air temperature and light to create a floating rainbow. Needless to say it primarily saw children standing in the shower of mist bedazzled as to how this ‘spray’ was creating such colours.
Your uncertain shadow (colour), 2010
Olafur’s use of light created a room full of movement shadows that made the room appear it was dancing. Another one of mine and my daughters favourites, Green magenta and blue spotlights arranged in a line on the floor. upon entering walking in front of each light projected a shadow onto the wall. The different colours created different angles creating an array of different silhouettes as can be seen in the picture below it made us appear giant like.
Your Spiral View (2002)
Another centre piece of the exhibition was a giant Kaleidoscope with a walkway, the reflective walkthrough consists of different angles playing a trickery with light and your reflection.
Inside your blind passage
The question to me was where and how? Where was the source of light? How did it change from an orange haze resembling a Sahara evening to a heaven like white fog to what felt like a blue planet. This installation enables to realise you use more than your eyes, you could call it your sixth sense but there is a dormant part of you that comes to life, preventing you from brushing the wall and being able to progress through the 45metre corridor of colourful fog.
The structural evolution project
Yes, another of my daughters favourites which I’m sure was with everyone else. This saw you get hands on, consisting of different pieces that can be connected together. Shapes, buildings or whatever you try to construct is completed by connecting specific ends into a centre point. The thought process behind making each component fit at specific angles made you fully lose track of time, a great way to detach yourself in some constructive fun.
