''In Croatia it has a lot of different qualities. Venice has become a museum. In Croatia, the pavillion seems to suggest a contemporary relationship between the island and the community – the time we live in rather than an agglomeration of museological ideas. The pavillion, I think, makes the island much more contemporary.'' - Olafur Eliasson
In the hilly, rocky, olive tree-covered landscape of Lopud Island, off the coast of Dubrovnik, stands a room-sized installation nestled in an unassuming pavilion.
The Your Black Horizon installation is the result of a collaboration between architect David Adjaye and artist Olafur Eliasson, originally developed as a pavilion for the Venice Biennale in 2005. It was first built on the Venetian island of San Lazzaro as a transitional structure, then later dismantled and rebuilt on Lopud, where it was re-experienced and permanently rooted in this unique context.
Following the path toward the pavilion, one encounters the front wooden facade with its dense rhythm of patinated wooden lamellas, serving as a permeable screen that envelops a dark installation room. Searching for an entrance, one finds a side corridor that leads through this rhythm of exposed slats, allowing sunlight to filter through and providing glimpses of olive trees and the vast sea to the right.
After walking through the colonnade of shadow and light, you are led into a black cube, climbing up the ramp and leaving the sight of Lopud behind. In the darkness, other senses heighten, and each careful step on the wooden structure produces a sound reminiscent of water hitting the coast. And yet, there is a small strip of light at eye level, which at first seems like natural light coming from the outside world but soon begins to change color into various hues—from whites to dark blues.
Through the slit in the wall, one observes, in a time-lapse, a full daily cycle of light conditions in Venice, and later in Lopud, recorded, analyzed, and condensed with a photometer. With the best artificial means, Eliasson managed to create a subtle natural theater.
Both art and architecture were conceived based on the phenomenon of light, whether natural or artificial. Together, they create a unique spatial experience that encourages everyone to bring something of their own to the experience.
In the darkness of the space, an individual emotional afterimage of the landscape arises, shaped by expectation, memory, strangeness, or the joy at the sight of a small flash of light. How does your horizon look like?
In the hilly, rocky, olive tree-covered landscape of Lopud Island, off the coast of Dubrovnik, stands a room-sized installation nestled in an unassuming pavilion.
The Your Black Horizon installation is the result of a collaboration between architect David Adjaye and artist Olafur Eliasson, originally developed as a pavilion for the Venice Biennale in 2005. It was first built on the Venetian island of San Lazzaro as a transitional structure, then later dismantled and rebuilt on Lopud, where it was re-experienced and permanently rooted in this unique context.
Following the path toward the pavilion, one encounters the front wooden facade with its dense rhythm of patinated wooden lamellas, serving as a permeable screen that envelops a dark installation room. Searching for an entrance, one finds a side corridor that leads through this rhythm of exposed slats, allowing sunlight to filter through and providing glimpses of olive trees and the vast sea to the right.
After walking through the colonnade of shadow and light, you are led into a black cube, climbing up the ramp and leaving the sight of Lopud behind. In the darkness, other senses heighten, and each careful step on the wooden structure produces a sound reminiscent of water hitting the coast. And yet, there is a small strip of light at eye level, which at first seems like natural light coming from the outside world but soon begins to change color into various hues—from whites to dark blues.
Through the slit in the wall, one observes, in a time-lapse, a full daily cycle of light conditions in Venice, and later in Lopud, recorded, analyzed, and condensed with a photometer. With the best artificial means, Eliasson managed to create a subtle natural theater.
Both art and architecture were conceived based on the phenomenon of light, whether natural or artificial. Together, they create a unique spatial experience that encourages everyone to bring something of their own to the experience.
In the darkness of the space, an individual emotional afterimage of the landscape arises, shaped by expectation, memory, strangeness, or the joy at the sight of a small flash of light. How does your horizon look like?
