Olafur Eliasson

BITS – Olafur Eliasson’s Space-Themed Works

In ALL, BITS by Alex Pedersen

Olafur Eliasson is an Icelandic-Danish artist known for his large-scale installation artworks and sculptures. Driven by an interest in perception, feelings of self, movement, and embodied experience he employs elemental materials such as air temperature, water, and light to add dimension to his  works. 

While Eliasson does not explicitly describe the influence of science in his works, he has collaborated with scientists many times throughout his career. Perhaps as a result, scientific concepts permeate many of his works, pushing viewers to experience the world around them in a new light.

“Often the typical mistake that you encounter at conferences on art and science is that the scientists talk about science and they use art as examples,” Eliasson explained in a 2015 interview. “I am not so interested in this approach. I am more interested in how science has allowed us to see the world in different ways.”

We highlight just a few of Eliasson’s space-themed works below:

Olafur Eliasson

Solar Compression | Photo by Anders Sune Berg

Olafur Eliasson

Planetary Perspective | Photo by Michael Tsegaye

Olafur Eliasson

Crystal Nebula | Photo by Michael Tsegaye

Olafur Eliasson

The New Planet | Photo by Jens Ziehe

Olafur Eliasson

The Sunny Space | Photo by Anders Sune Berg

Olafur Eliasson

Your Solar Attention | Photo by Jens Ziehe

Olafur Eliasson

Gravity of Time | Photo by Jens Ziehe

Olafur Eliasson

Gravity of Time | Photo by Jens Ziehe

Olafur Eliasson

Crystal Nebula | Photo by Michael Tsegaye

Olafur Eliasson

Life of a Planet | Photo by Jens Ziehe

Olafur Eliasson

Life of a Planet | Photo by Jens Ziehe

Olafur Eliasson

Seeing the Galaxy | Photo by Uo Xianglin and Chen Shengming

Olafur Eliasson

Parallax Planet | Photo by Iwan Baan

Olafur Eliasson

Big Ban Fountain | Photo by Anders Sune Berg

Find out more at Olafur Eliasson’s website.

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About the Author

Alex Pedersen

Alex is a critical scholar and social scientist. During her degrees, Alex recognized a dearth of knowledge transfer between the academy and the general public. To address this gap, she extends her empirical research through multiple mediums including: publications, formal lectures, public speaking events, radio, theatre and photography. In diversifying access to her research, Alex honed a unique set of skills to plan, design and produce events for a wide variety of audiences. To date, she was responsible for several successful lecture series, community events and fundraisers across diverse settings. Most notably, Alex organized and implemented the 2015 Chancellor Dunning Trust Lectureship and was an advisor for the “Free Queen’s” Steering Committee (an initiative encouraging graduates to bring their work to the wider public). In addition, she has written numerous successful grant applications. An activist at heart, Alex advocates for critical thinking in and beyond academic institutions.