How Scandinavian artist Olafur Eliasson’s large art installations changed the life of a Hong Kong architect
- Olafur Eliasson’s multisensory giant installations use elemental materials to transport his audiences to other, surreal worlds
- Nelson Chow, founder and principal of Hong Kong architects NCDA, was inspired by the artist’s ability to interact with his audience
The Weather Project (2003) is perhaps the best-known project from Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, who specialises in large-scale installations that employ elemental materials and extensive audience interaction.
Installed in the giant Turbine Hall of London’s Tate Modern gallery, it used mirrors, lamps and humidifiers to create the illusion of an indoor sun. Nelson Chow Chi-wai, the founder and principal of Hong Kong architecture firm NCDA, tells Richard Lord how it changed his life.
Olafur Eliasson has been influential in my work. I find his art multisensory, placing the audience in a surreal immersive experience, which leaves an unforgettable impression.
I first encountered his work when I was living in New York, when he created artificial waterfalls in the rivers there (New York City Waterfalls, 2008). Then, in Austria, I saw a work where he put fog in every level of a building; you had to walk through the fog, and you didn’t know where you’re going (Yellow Fog, 2008).
It intrigued me and made me want to find out more about the artist. What really inspired me was the interaction. You can’t see a work like that online; you have to physically experience it. It’s what I want from the spaces I create.
His stuff is about teaching the audience that everything, even nature, can be recreated. It’s very scientific, and it helps people to understand nature. The Weather Project is my favourite project ever. It’s something that was unexpected in the space.
It beautifully used the large atrium within the Tate Modern, with a mirror to create a double-height volume that you wouldn’t expect, creating a surreal world that was perhaps influenced by space and time of the future.
The large, open space in the Tate Modern represents power and evokes feelings of wonder and mystery. Eliasson’s art emphasises and expands on this experience. A combination of the existing space with colour, light and mist transports the viewer into another world, where they lie down and contemplate.
It totally succeeds in turning the interior into the exterior, and it has a surreal quality that I really like. I want each project I do to engage people and create something surreal.
With the space shuttle project (Dreamscape, a 2021 installation by NCDA in K11 Musea’s Bohemian Garden), it pumped out mist every 20 minutes and, by evening, it looked like it was taking off. You had to go and see it. It’s very surreal when you see a spaceship at K11. That kind of engagement is what I’m looking for.
With Foxglove (a hidden bar designed by NCDA on Duddell Street), the entrance looks like an umbrella shop; you need to find the umbrella with the fox head, and then the light dims and the door opens.
The exterior looks like a shop and blends in with the neighbourhood, but once you’re inside you feel like you’re in a ship or on a plane, or even away from Hong Kong.
Again, it’s about timing and creating sequences, and creating an experience for the audience. It’s like directing a movie.
