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Firefly biosphere (twilighting), 2022 - Photo: Magnus Sigurdsson
Firefly biosphere (twilighting), 2022
Photo: Magnus Sigurdsson
Firefly biosphere (twilighting), 2022 - Photo: Jens Ziehe
Firefly biosphere (twilighting), 2022
Photo: Jens Ziehe
Firefly biosphere (twilighting), 2022 - Photo: Jens Ziehe
Firefly biosphere (twilighting), 2022
Photo: Jens Ziehe
Firefly biosphere (twilighting), 2022 - National Museum of Qatar, Doha – 2023 - Photo: Anders Sune Berg
Firefly biosphere (twilighting), 2022
National Museum of Qatar, Doha – 2023
Photo: Anders Sune Berg
Firefly biosphere (twilighting), 2022 - Studio Olafur Eliasson, Berlin – 2022 - Photo: Jens Ziehe
Firefly biosphere (twilighting), 2022
Studio Olafur Eliasson, Berlin – 2022
Photo: Jens Ziehe
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Firefly biosphere (twilighting), 2022

This small polyhedron is one of a series of sixteen, related, hanging sculptures, the product of decades of research undertaken at Studio Olafur Eliasson. 
Three concentric polyhedrons, one nestled inside the other, project an elaborate array of geometric shapes, shadows, and colours onto the surrounding walls. The tinted-glass faces of the outermost form – an eight-sided solid known as a rhombic dodecahedron – are curved outwards to create a segmented sphere or bubble. Within this outer skin, the two interior forms, whose geometries are loosely correlated, turn slowly on a motor. In addition to colourful panes of handblown glass, the artwork incorporates panes of colour-effect-filter glass, a special material that reflects light of a single colour while allowing the remaining light to pass through. LED spots integrated into the outer frame illuminate the core and are reflected back out by the inner forms. 
Positioned directly at the exit of the exhibition, the artwork forms, together with the projection work Your sooner than later at the entrance, a bookend to Eliasson’s exhibition at the National Museum of Qatar, underlining the importance of light in the artist’s practice.

Artwork details

Title

Firefly biosphere (twilighting)

Year

2022

Materials

Coloured glass (dark grey), colour-effect filter (pink), stainless steel, LED lights, paint (black), aluminium, motor, control unit