Iceland bid farewell to the Okjökull glacier in August 2019. During the early 1990s, the icy mass covered 15 square kilometres of mountainside on top of the Ok shield volcano, located west of the Langjökull ice cap. Almost 30 years later, leading glaciologist Oddue Sigurðsson (b. 1959) observed that Okjökull was nothing more than slush and declared it dead, marking the first-ever loss of this kind. A symbolic funeral was held in turn. Here, ambassadors, citizens and then president Katrín Jakobsdóttir (b. 1976) made the pilgrimage atop Volcano Ok to pay their respects. One month later, Olafur Eliasson (b. 1967) was appointed Goodwill Ambassador by the UN Development Programme. The visual artist’s work places the human subject in close relation to natural phenomena. We see this in The Weather Project (2003), which famously bringing the viewer face-to-face with the sun’s trajectory. For this reason, the UNDP nominated Eliasson as “someone to serve as an advocate for urgent climate action and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).” The follow-up question was whether art could actually inspire the urgent action required. He reflects: “I think that working as an artist itself is already making a contribution to the world […] I don’t think that my goodwill ambassadorship is going to deviate a lot from what I’m already working on.”
In November 2019, The Glacier Melt Series (1999/2019) was unveiled at Reykjavík Art Museum Hafnarhús. Aerial photographs were framed alongside each other to form a linear narrative that drew attention to the retreat of Iceland’s glaciers. The collection spoke to an increasing imbalance between nature and humanity, in keeping with Eliasson’s confrontational simulations of the two within the gallery space. This approach paved the way for Eliasson’s current exhibit at the Istanbul Modern, titled Your Unexpected Encounter. The exhibition features nearly 40 works, which includes new productions. Curated by Öykü Özsoy Sağnak, Nilay Dursun, and Ümit Mesci, it’s a show that focuses on colour, environments, geometry, light, movement, perception and water across an array of installations, sculptures and photographs
The show responds to Istanbul’s unique maritime history, making reference to the Bosphorus strait that the museum overlooks. Site-specific work Dusk to Dawn, Bosporus, for example, brings the changing colours of the waterway into the gallery space. The work includes hand-blown glass panels stacked on driftwood, providing a preview of other colour experiments that arrive later in the exhibit. Sunset Kaleidoscope continues to traverse the boundaries between inside and outside when directly looking out to the Bosphorus. The view is transformed by movement, bringing the strait’s history into focus.
There’s also a new permanent installation on display, called Your Unexpected Journey, which was designed specifically for the museum’s new building. Located in the stairway, the work’s reflective circular surfaces are a point of contrast against the right-angled architecture. As viewers move up and down the steps, they experience numerous different encounters with the piece. Here, Eliasson’s engagement with environmental topics blend with his interest in the permutability of colour, geometry and perception.
Eliasson states “visitors can take their time inside the museum, orient themselves among the artworks and then turn their attention to the outside, where ships pass by the gallery en route to destinations around the world.” Eczacıbaşı Group CEO Atalay Gümrah says that this level of interactivity within complements Istanbul Modern’s mission to “reflect contemporary transformations through comprehensive art.” Moreover, the city is a site of personal significance for Eliasson. In 1997, he participated in the 5th Istanbul Biennial in On Life, Beauty, Translations and Other Difficulties, curated by Rosa Martinez. He notes “without that encounter almost three decades ago, I would not be the artist I am today […] navigation, orientation and the sea have been crucial themes in my art over the years, but they have a special meaning here.”
Throughout Your Unexpected Encounter, viewers are prompted to reconsider how they perceive and interact with the world. “When we meet these works, we become aware of realities beyond our own senses, movements, the people around us, and what we perceive with our own eyes alone,” says Chief Curator Sağnak. Eliasson uses the “your” pronoun so viewers are immersed with the works. In turn, the viewer is encouraged to think about their actions in relation to an ecosystem beyond the gallery space.
Istanbul Modern, Olafur Eliasson: Your Unexpected Encounter | Until 9 February
Words: Kyle Boulton
Image Credits:
- Olafur Eliasson, Sunset kaleidoscope, 2005; Installation view: Olafur Eliasson: Your unexpected encounter, Istanbul Modern, Türkiye, 2024; Photo: Kayhan Kaygusuz; Courtesy of the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles; © 2005 Olafur Eliasson
- Olafur Eliasson, Room for one colour, 1997; Installation view: Olafur Eliasson: Your unexpected encounter, Istanbul Modern, Türkiye, 2024; Courtesy of Angsuvarnsiri Collection, Photo: Kayhan Kaygusuz; © 1997 Olafur Eliasson
- Olafur Eliasson, The critical zone sphere, 2020; Installation view: Olafur Eliasson: Your unexpected encounter, Istanbul Modern, Türkiye, 2024; Photo: Kayhan Kaygusuz; Courtesy of the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles; © 2020 Olafur Eliasson
