Created especially for the exhibition that accompanied the opening of the commission A harmonious cycle of interconnected nows, 2023, in the Azabudai Hills Mori JP Tower, Tokyo, this human-sized sculpture, titled The air we breathe, utilises the same modules as the artwork in the tower and the same recycled material – zinc waste salvaged from the mining industry through an experimental technique. These two artworks are the first created by Olafur Eliasson specifically for recycled materials, marking an important milestone in the Studio’s ongoing sustainability efforts.
Constructed from repeating, space-filling modules, the column at the centre of this work resembles an organic growth of crystals or coral reefs. The module – a polyhedron with eleven faces, known as a bisymmetric hendecahedron – derives from years of geometrical research by Studio Olafur Eliasson into stackable, space-filling modules. While it can be combined to create larger structures, the odd number of rhombic, quadrilateral, and triangular faces results in unexpected, meandering forms, giving the work the organic impression noted above. 
Atop the column, at approximately eyelevel, four readymade desk fans blow currents of air in four directions, like the proverbial winds of classical antiquity. The artwork thus meets the viewer not only visually, but through a subtle touch of air on skin.