Olafur Eliasson’s ‘Presence’ Exhibition Asks Viewers to Confront Their impact on the World
Brisbane, Australia – A monumental installation by Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, titled Presence, is challenging perceptions and prompting introspection at the Gallery of Modern Art (Goma) in Meanjin/Brisbane. The exhibition, spanning the artist’s 30-year practise, opened to the public this week and features immersive works alongside stark reminders of the climate crisis.
The exhibition’s centerpiece, a massive artificial sun, immediately captivates visitors. Described as looming and dynamic, with a surface resembling “thousands of tiny atomic explosions,” the sun reacts to the movement of those who observe it. “When you move, it moves,” Eliasson explained to a curator, “so the sun is asking you to notice that your presence makes a difference.” This interactive element underscores a central theme of the exhibition: the consequences of individual actions.
Eliasson, known for his large-scale installations that blend art, science, and technology, presents Riverbed, a work originally exhibited in 2019.Acquired by Goma following the 2019 Water exhibition, Riverbed now carries a heavier weight, representing what remains as glaciers disappear.
the artist’s earlier work, The Weather Project (2003) at Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, serves as a conceptual predecessor to Presence. That installation transformed the hall into a communal space, fostering a sense of “we-ness” – shared humanity – that Eliasson hopes to replicate in Brisbane.
Beyond the immersive installations, Eliasson’s photographs of Iceland provide a sobering counterpoint. The Glacier Melt series, comprised of paired photographs taken in 1999 and 2019, visually documents the dramatic impact of climate change on the Icelandic landscape. These images anchor the exhibition in a tangible reality, mirroring the changes occurring in Australia as well.
Eliasson doesn’t shy away from confronting the urgency of the climate crisis.He believes that “the collapse is now,” stemming from “our inability to deal with the way it is collapsing.” However, he rejects the notion of separating nature experienced within a gallery from the natural world outside. “There is no outside and inside. There is only the world,” he asserts, arguing that galleries offer a space for clearer vision, free from the “contamination” and “politicization” that often obscures our understanding of environmental issues.
Despite his concerns, Eliasson identifies as a “prisoner of hope,” inspired by Indigenous philosophies that view nature as kin and the growing movement to grant legal rights to natural features. He finds solace in the belief that humanity possesses the capacity to alter its viewpoint.
Presence extends beyond observation,offering opportunities for participation. Visitors are invited to contribute to The cubic Structural Evolution Project (2004), a collaborative construction using 500,000 white Lego bricks, designed to explore collective creativity and sustainable systems. “We’re thinking, how do we spark off each other, and dream, and make a city where energy, materials and creativity cycle in different ways?” explained Geraldine Kirrihi Barlow, Qagoma’s head of international art.
The development of Presence involved an unusually close collaboration between Eliasson and Barlow, who spent two months embedded with Studio Olafur Eliasson, a team of 90 architects, craftsmen, historians, and technicians. Eliasson actively sought Barlow’s perspective, repeatedly asking, “Where am I blind? What can you see that I can’t?”
This spirit of generosity and openness permeated their conversations, extending beyond the logistical planning of the exhibition. As the opening approached, Eliasson reflected on the gallery as a space for vulnerability. “This gallery, like Iceland, is a place where I can exhale. I don’t have to always be on my heels. I can soften,” he said.”That softening is the currency of tomorrow. That type of tenderness is actually fierce.And that is presence.”
