Walking on a Rainbow

Artist of light and scientist of weather changes, a Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, has once again turned to nature making it an accomplice in his latest project – Your Rainbow Panorama. It is an impressive installation, a circular pathway made in transparent glass and representing all colors of the spectrum, placed on the roof of the ARoS Museum of Art in the Danish city of Aarhus. Eliasson’s project won the Sky Space competition in 2007, ahead of the entries by Dominique Perrault, Diller Scofidio +Renfro and Maya Lin.

The concept of the contest was to use the potential of the Museum’s roof and turn it into a new exhibition area. The roof’s structure had been reinforced during the building process so it could sustain a construction of monumental proportions. Seeing as the main concept of the ARoS Museum is based on Dante’s Divine Comedy, with each floor representing a certain segment of his voyage (including the works of artists such as Bill Viola, James Turrello, Pipilotti Rist…), the roof has now become a transitory part between Hell and the Gates of Heaven.

Eliasson’s Rainbow, or halo, as it has been named by some critics, is in contrast with the Museum’s manifestation; but it is also a perfect continuation of his laboratory approach to art. His work focuses on the changes in the human perception as consequence of the intensive changes in the environment. Using pure color in a transparent pathway, Eliasson assesses its effect on each individual visitor. It is possible to experience every color in the spectrum as vibrant, static, cold, warm… The experience depends on the visitor’s movements and it is different and unexpected every time – just like the view of the city of Aarhus. Sometimes monochromatic, if the visitor decides to stand in one place; or walk above it and experience the spectrum of its colors.

The installation has become the new focus of the panorama of Aarhus, changing relative to one’s viewpoint; but it has also offered a new dimension of looking at the city from the Museum’s top. This is exactly how Eliasson has intended to connect the city and the museum and their citizens/visitors – by offering them a new reality; a new possibility of interpretation. Ultimately, the project encapsulates the basic themes of art – how to master color, movement and perception by using the perfect geometrical shape – a circle.