21 April 2021
Olafur Eliasson floods the Fondation Beyeler with “Life”
DLA member Olafur Eliasson presents his new installation “Life” at the Fondation Beyeler in Basel, Switzerland. The artist invites to question the separation between nature and culture and literally lets water and all surrounding elements into the museum. One side of the building has been removed; exterior and interior will be one for the duration of the exhibition, which ends in July 2021. Eliasson writes that “even if no human visitors are in the space, other beings – insects, bats, or birds, for instance – can fly through or take up temporary abode within it.”
Eliasson’s installation can be visited around the clock and experienced under different light conditions. Thus, the role that light and darkness play in all living beings’ biological rhythms and in our perception of the environment is also suggested by the art work. This aspect is highlighted on the exhibition website through different quotes from DLA member and chronobiologist Anna Wirz-Justice.