Light in motion with the wind... MMCA unveils new Eliasson work

[Financial News] Unpredictable Orbit, a new work by Olafur Eliasson that transforms space with light and wind, has been unveiled. It is on view in the lobby of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, and will later tour regional art museums in Jeonbuk and Gangneung.■ A landscape of light created by a fan and glass polyhedraAccording to the MMCA on the 21st, Unpredictable Orbit (2026) was created for public spaces such as museum lobbies that receive natural light. A long rod suspended from the ceiling is balanced by a glass polyhedron that emits light from within at one end and a fan attached to the other.
When the fan operates irregularly, the entire structure moves slowly, tracing unpredictable paths. Light from the glass polyhedron casts multicolored polygons and subtle shadows across the surrounding space.
During the day, it blends with natural light to create soft colors and flowing lines; as darkness falls, it fills the space with vivid light and shadows. The same work thus appears different depending on when it is viewed.
The glass polyhedron at the heart of the work combines two different polyhedra. Its mechanism recalls Alexander Calder’s mobiles, while the glass polyhedron glowing from within brings to mind traditional Asian lanterns.
Eliasson has explored human perception and the experience of space using light, color, water, and air. In The Weather Project, presented at Tate Modern in London in 2003, he created a scene that appeared to show a vast sun hanging in the sky, using a semicircular screen, ceiling mirrors, and artificial mist. Visitors could see the device that created the sun from one end of the hall and the back of the mirrored structure from the upper level.
He explained of the new work, “The work constantly takes on a different appearance as time passes and the light changes, and visitors, too, become part of the work even as they look at it.”
■ Regional tour planned from the production stage... heading to Jeonbuk and GangneungThis work is the first outcome of “New Commissions by Contemporary Artists and Touring,” part of “MMCA Regional Partnership,” an initiative newly launched by the MMCA this year. A commission is a way of asking an artist to create a work.
The museum selected Eliasson through artist recommendations and a review process, with a regional tour in mind from the outset. The aim is to expand opportunities to see the work by sharing cultural content concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area with other regions. The work was unveiled after an operational test in the Seoul branch lobby.
The work became part of the museum’s collection through a purchase and donation by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Development Support Committee (MDC). Additional support for the project came from HS Hyosung, an MDC member company. MDC is a group of business leaders established in 2011 to support the museum’s development and the acquisition of artworks.
Yoon Tae-wook, acting director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, said, “It is highly significant that contemporary art is connected with regions from the production stage.”
Installation in the Seoul branch began on August 14, and the work will be on view for free through November 5. It is then scheduled to be shown in the first-floor lobby of the Jeonbuk Museum of Art from November 10 through February 14 next year, and in the Solol lobby of the Gangneung City Museum of Art from February 24 through May 16 next year.

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