Life

The exhibition LIFE at the Fondation Beyeler by Olafur Eliasson and VOGT invites the wild and unexpected into the heart of the gallery. Within the flooded rooms, nearly a dozen species of water plants gently float in radiant green water. VOGT assisted Studio Olafur Eliasson in the conception and realization of this Gesamtkunstwerk by offering expertise on plant selection and distribution. The result is a series of delicate yet dramatic encounters between different textures and shades of green, between different genetics and biological systems. Throughout day and night, and throughout the entire period of the exhibition, these encounters remain dynamic and ever changing as the plants colonize the different rooms of Renzo Piano’s light-filled building. 

Moving along the wooden boardwalk, the atmosphere evolves as each room is inhabited by a different assemblage of plants. As the plants grow and multiply over the course of the exhibition, they spread from one room to the next along ephemeral currents in the water. 

Looking closer the fast-breeding duckweed (Lemnar minor) encircles the majestic shellflower (Pistia stratiotes), while the gently drifting floating fern (Salvinia natans) holds onto the bushy water clover (Marsilea quadrifolia). All plants are cohabiting the radiant green water, while at the same time competing for nutrients, sunlight and domination of the approx. 1000m² water surface. 

After sunset, the water itself reveals its chemistry as it fluoresces brightly under ultra-violet lighting. The boardwalk and plants are cast into darkness, and the glowing water is all encompassing. The nighttime exhibit becomes the mirror image of the exhibition in daylight, just as the water mirrors the architecture and the trees in the park of the Fondation.