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Green river, 1998 - Stockholm, 2000 – 1998 - Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998
Stockholm, 2000 – 1998
Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998 - The Northern Fjallabak Route, Iceland, 1998 - Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998
The Northern Fjallabak Route, Iceland, 1998
Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998 - Tokyo, 2001 – 1998 - Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998
Tokyo, 2001 – 1998
Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998 - The Northern Fjallabak Route, Iceland, 1998 - Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998
The Northern Fjallabak Route, Iceland, 1998
Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998 - Tokyo, 2001 – 1998 - Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998
Tokyo, 2001 – 1998
Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998 - Stockholm, 2000 – 1998 - Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998
Stockholm, 2000 – 1998
Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998 - Stockholm, 2000 – 1998 - Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998
Stockholm, 2000 – 1998
Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998 - Los Angeles, 1999 – 1998 - Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998
Los Angeles, 1999 – 1998
Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998 - Los Angeles, 1999 – 1998 - Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998
Los Angeles, 1999 – 1998
Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998 - Los Angeles, 1999 – 1998 - Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998
Los Angeles, 1999 – 1998
Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998 - Moss, Norway, 1998 - Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998
Moss, Norway, 1998
Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998 - Moss, Norway, 1998 - Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998
Moss, Norway, 1998
Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998 - Moss, Norway, 1998 - Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998
Moss, Norway, 1998
Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998 - Moss, Norway, 1998 - Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998
Moss, Norway, 1998
Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998 - Bremen, Germany, 1998 - Photo: Helmut Wieben
Green river, 1998
Bremen, Germany, 1998
Photo: Helmut Wieben
Green river, 1998 - Bremen, Germany, 1998 - Photo: Helmut Wieben
Green river, 1998
Bremen, Germany, 1998
Photo: Helmut Wieben
Green river, 1998 - Bremen, Germany, 1998 - Photo: Helmut Wieben
Green river, 1998
Bremen, Germany, 1998
Photo: Helmut Wieben
Green river, 1998 - Tokyo, 2001 – 1998 - Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998
Tokyo, 2001 – 1998
Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998 - Tokyo, 2001 – 1998 - Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Green river, 1998
Tokyo, 2001 – 1998
Photo: Olafur Eliasson
Meteorologica
Meteorologica
A water-soluble dye used to test ocean currents was poured into rivers in urban and rural settings, turning the rivers green. Carried along by the currents, the dye radically changed the appearance of the rivers and their surroundings. This video documents ‘Green river’ in Tokyo in 2001; other locations for the intervention are Bremen, Germany, 1998; Moss, Norway, 1998; The Northern Fjallabak Route, Iceland, 1998; Los Angeles, 1999; and Stockholm, 2000.
Watch on soe.tv ⤶
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Each time I have made Green river, I have been struck by the power of the simple change in colour. The vivid green of the non-toxic dye makes the water explicit as it flows past on its way to the ocean, where it disperses and is carried around the globe. This act of dying a river green has been used by others for a number of reasons – by scientists tracing water currents, by the city of Chicago to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, and by activist organisations like Extinction Rebellion, to name a few. In the art context, the Argentine artist Nicolás García Uriburu dyed the Grand Canal in Venice green in 1968, a work that I learned about after I had created the first Green river intervention. I hope that Green river acknowledges our entanglement in all the constantly changing, yet overlooked, agencies that make up our natural-cultural environment. - Olafur Eliasson