Eliasson’s exhibition, as suggested by its title and manifested in the arrangement of works, encourages the audience to carefully and methodically explore the kaleidoscope of the artist’s body of work – which ranges from simple “chromatic investigations” (Kent) on large paper, to photographs, sculptures and intricate and interactive installations which encompass an entire room. One such work is ‘Beauty’, which consists of a light mist of water coming from the ceiling, a single spotlight and a dark room. As the rays of the spotlight shine on the delicately falling mist, they bounce off the water particles to create a rainbow sequence which, for every viewer, is unique depending on all those subtle contingencies which make every experience slightly different.
Another impressive work is the ‘360° room for all colours’ which, as the title suggests, encompasses the viewer in a large enclosure of continually-changing hues. One is engulfed, bathed in the visual sensuality of colour. Another similar work is ‘One-way colour tunnel’ an arrangement of colour-effect acrylic and mirrors which bounce reflections, colour and light from all sides as you walk through. It is quite literally a kaleidoscope walk-way. Both works are magnificent!
These are only three of the 30 works displayed in the exhibition. Aside from the theoretical/academic investigations into ways of seeing, and the continued debate surrounding the way audience participation shapes and transforms a work, Elisasson’s works are simply great to look at and look through. They achieve that rare quality of good art which can be experienced at different levels – from the simply visual, to the potently theoretical – without bombarding the audience with esotericism, but instead allowing them to simply feel. [Image from http://www.mca.com.au/]
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