Dark matter collective

Olafur Eliasson is a Danish-Icelandic artist is known for his installations and sculptures that experiment with visual perception and the agency of the viewer. His works often use light, glass, mirror and metal, to explore his interests in optics, architecture and the environment.

Dark matter collective consists of 217 solid glass spheres of various sizes which together create a dynamic circular mass. A portion of each glass spheres has been given a mirror-finish through a hand-silvering process, which is then coated in a matte black paint. When approached directly the spheres appear opaque in their blackness; however moving around the sculpture reveals the transparency and mirrored interior of the spheres, reflecting back hundreds of inverted images of the viewer, and the work of art. Artists throughout history have used glass spheres and optical aids such prisms, lenses and mirrors to draw perspectival compositions and reflect on the mechanics of vision. The revelation of the apparatus behind an optical illusion is frequently found in Eliasson’s work as a means of encouraging viewers to reflect upon their perception of the physical world. This moment of recognition has been described by Eliasson as ‘seeing yourself sensing’.

The title Dark matter collective refers to the invisible matter that makes up 27% of the universe. The artist was interested in recent studies in quantum physics that propose that dark matter could consist of a parallel universe that is an exact mirror of our own. 

Leigh Robb, Curator of Contemporary Art

An Icelandic–Danish artist, Olafur Eliasson is known for his large-scale installations and sculptures that experiment with visual perception. Eliasson’s works often use elemental matter such as light, air and water and materials such as metal and glass to explore geometry, optics, colour theory, meteorology and climate change.

The title, Dark matter collective, refers to the invisible matter that makes up twenty-seven per cent of the universe. The artist was interested in the contemporary studies in physics that propose that dark matter could consist of a parallel universe, one that is an exact mirror of our own.

Eliasson’s 2018 sculpture is comprised of 217 glass spheres of various sizes, arranged in a dynamic circular mass. Through a hand-silvering process, one-half of each glass sphere has been given a mirror finish, after which it was coated with a matte black paint. When approached from the front, the spheres appear opaque in their blackness; however, when the viewer moves around the sculpture, the spheres reveal their transparency and mirrored interior, whereby hundreds of inverted reflections of the viewer are displayed.

The glass sphere and other optical aids, such prisms, lenses and mirrors, have been used by artists throughout history to render complex perspectival scenes. The technique underpinning an optical illusion is frequently divulged in Eliasson’s work, as the artist is interested not only in evoking awe through seemingly magical experiences, but also in revealing the mechanics of vision  and wonder.

Leigh Robb, Curator of Contemporary Art