Olafur Eliasson flooded Fondation Beyeler

The site-specific installation titled Life opens 24-hours-a-day to ‘insects, bats or birds’ and people. The artist has removed one glass side of the Renzo Piano-designed building (with the architect’s authorization) and let the feature pond—usually separated from the climate-controlled interior by a large glass wall—into the museum. This act, which the artist describes as ‘caring,’ opens up the museum to its surroundings,
“With Life, I work actively to create a space of coexistence among those involved in and affected by the exhibition – the art institution, my artwork, the visitors, other beings that join in, the trees and other plants in the park, the urban landscape that surrounds the museum, and beyond. Through collectively exploring the world we share, we can, I hope, make it livable for all species.”
Eliasson’s aimed to allow visiting the Fondation Beyeler during the next month’s freely walking into the building at any time of day or night. The museum will be experienced differently depending on the time of day as the water appears bright green in daylight and fluoresces at night. The artist set up a combination of ultraviolet light and a fluorescent dye in the water, known as uranine.
As the water fills the museum’s space, connecting the interior with the outdoor pond and adding a significant number of plants selected by the landscape architect Günther Vogt, all of which grows in shallow water: floating fern, dwarf water lilies, shellflower, red root floater, and water caltrop. The passerby can wander the exhibition along dark wooden walkways; Eliasson intended to create a coexistace environment for the institution, visitors, and other life forms.
The exhibition will be on view until July, and there is a live stream of the exhibition using cameras with different optical filters that “allude to non-human perspectives.”
For more information, and to visit the exhibition virtually: https://life.fondationbeyeler.ch