olafur eliasson and ma yansong: feelings are facts
ullens center for contemporary art, beijing
on now until june 20th, 2010

image © designboom

designboom was in beijing at the exhibition opening of 'feelings are facts', the result of a first time
collaboration between danish-icelandic artist olafur eliasson and chinese architect ma yansong / MAD,
which challenges our everyday patterns of spatial orientation. vision functions as our primary default
sense for navigation, but within this installation, insecurity is induced on visitors initially,
reducing visibility, suggesting the need to invent new models for perception.


image © designboom

this site-specific project, located within the big hall of ullens center for contemporary art (UCCA),
beijing is based on a series of previous experiments by eliasson, which deal with atmospheric density.
here, eliasson introduces condensed banks of artificially produced fog into the gallery,
shimmering with an artificial light spectrum, created using arrays of red, green and blue fluorescent lamps.
this illusion in light is not something we find in nature, however, as one walks through the space,
the sights and sensations experience become real.

image © designboom


image © designboom

dimensions are further altered by the substantial lowering of the ceiling along with a nearly
60 meter long curving, inclined wooden floor space which ma yansong has created within
the installation room. the sloping floor challenges visitors to readjust their balance,
forcing them to constantly shift their weight and body posture to counterbalance the inclination.
this emphasizes the important role of the moving body in the perception of our surroundings.
the further visitors venture into the space, the steeper the floors get, reaching the point in which
it becomes a wave-like curved wall. since the ceiling imitates this construction, a seemingly
boundless space is discerned above.


fog obstructs the view of the visitor, playing with their perception of space
image © designboom


image © designboom


the fog and fluorescent lighting create colored walk-through spaces
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image © designboom


dense fog being emitted into the gallery space
image © designboom


image © designboom


image © designboom


image © designboom

'space and light bring life into existence. there is no space, unless given light and boundary.
space has never existed, but rather exists only in the specific feelings it induces. space in reality,
exists only in sensuality. with expanding desire, everything is managed with utmost efficiency.
our feelings and sensibilities are seeing facts in the context of habituated life. no until shutting our eyes,
can be feel the world from within, space and light will touch your soul.' - ma yansong

image © designboom


image © designboom


image © designboom


image © designboom

within the gallery space, there are hundreds of fluorescent lights on the ceiling creating a grid of red,
green and blue zones. alongside the permeating the fog, these lights create colored walk-through spaces.
these zones introduce a scale of measurement in the gallery, their varying size and organization
referencing urban-planning grids. at each color boundary, two hues blend to create transitional slivers
of cyan, magenta and yellow so visitors can create their own color spectrum. visitors can use this
color atlas to navigate through the dense, seemingly endless, illuminated atmosphere.
eliasson and ma use this structural marvel to present inquiries into the nature of reality:

'what should be the basis of our thinking and judgement in a space where reality and illusion
interconnect?'

'as we stand amidst such accomplished phenomena, can we re-examine with greater concern
our sensations and experiences of that which is around us?'

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entrance into the installation hall
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artist olafur eliasson and architect ma yansong
image © designboom


artist olafur eliasson and architect ma yansong
portrait © designboom