Occupying the core of the central staircase of the new Tadao Ando–designed He Art Museum in Foshan, China, Atmospheric column, 2023, seems to grow and evolve eternally. The spiralling sculpture engages in dialogue with the spiral staircase that surrounds it, echoing the staircase’s reference to the form of the double helix that is the building block of life. 
Extending down twenty metres from just below the skylight, the sculpture can be viewed from various perspectives as one ascends and descends the staircase. The two sets of concentric helices were constructed as continuous pipes of steel, creating an infinite loop, with the larger, outer helices coiled four times around the smaller, more tightly wound inner spirals. The outer-facing surfaces of each have been painted black while the white inner surfaces catch the light that shines down from above. 
The sculpture is suspended vertically from the ceiling on a motor that causes it to rotate gracefully around its axis. This rotation conjures the illusion of two intersecting waves that appear to glide for ever past one another, the one ascending and the other descending. From the landings, the waves appear to change continually, creating shifting patterns of overlapping black-and-white coils. The steady motion reflects and amplifies the visitors’ own movement as they progress from one level to another. From below, the two helices render a constantly shifting pattern of concentric circles.