A snow-covered volcanic plain dotted with dark, irregular rocks, lit by warm yellow light, with low ridges and distant slopes under a cloudy sky.

The Hekla twilight series 2006

In these images, we do not see the sun as it sets, only the golden glow it casts upon the snow and mountain peak to left of frame. Eliasson describes taking the photograph:

‘Hekla is one of Iceland’s big volcanos and has erupted three or four times in my life, I think. Not large eruptions, but nevertheless, when you get close to it, you always wonder whether it could happen again. The area pictured in the photographs, just on the north-eastern side of Hekla, has black volcanic glass that shimmers in particular ways. And the snow, of course, is white … Instead of going down, it seems to hover over the horizon and only very gradually gets lower and lower. Twilight, therefore, lasts much, much longer than it does around the equator.’

— Olafur Eliasson

– Geraldine Kirrihi Barlow

Low/no vision audio description

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The Hekla Twilight series 2006 consists of 20 colour photographs, each measuring about 31.5 by 41.5 centimetres. Together they form a large, 4 by 5 rectangular grid across the wall that measures approximately 1.4 metres high by 2.3 metres wide. The photographs are framed in black and are evenly spaced, creating a steady rhythm that emphasises their sequence. Together, the photographs display a sequential series, taken from a single location on the surface of the Hekla volcano as the sun set and day faded into night.

Each photograph captures a snow-covered Icelandic volcanic landscape, offering a wide view of the surrounding ridges and valleys from the same vantage point. In the foreground and mid-ground, the rocky ground is blanketed with snow, its surface uneven, scattered with small stones and darker patches where the rock breaks through. The background is dominated by distant mountain peaks, their outlines rising sharply against the sky.

Across the series, the land remains constant while the light changes gradually as day becomes night. The opening row shows pale twilight. Progressing across the grid, the atmosphere warm with golden light fades into cooler blues and greys. Shadows lengthen, details blur and, in the final row of images, night falls.

The repetition of the view traces subtle transformations in light and atmosphere, turning a fixed volcanic landscape into a meditation on time unfolding.

– QAGOMA

A snow-covered volcanic plain with scattered dark rocks, partially illuminated by yellow light, with distant ridgelines under a clouded sky.

A snow-covered volcanic plain illuminated by warm light hitting uneven rock formations, with distant ridgelines visible through a faint mist.

A snow-covered volcanic plain scattered with dark rock formations, illuminated by soft yellow light, with low ridgelines rising under a faintly golden sky.

A snow-covered volcanic plain scattered with dark, irregular rocks, lit by warm yellow light, with low ridgelines and distant slopes beneath a clouded sky.

A snow-covered volcanic plain scattered with dark, irregular rock formations, with low ridgelines and distant slopes rising beneath an overcast sky.

A snow-covered volcanic plain scattered with dark, irregular rocks, with low ridges and distant slopes beneath a dim, cloudy, blue-grey sky.

Room: ‘Iceland’

Olafur Eliasson returns regularly to Iceland. Although now based in Berlin, he was born in Copenhagen to Icelandic parents. As a child, he would spend summers with his grandparents near Reykjavík. Moving between these different landscapes has shaped his artistic practice in profound ways. Experiencing such distinct ways of life, qualities of place and phenomena of light, was critical in shaping his focus on how we perceive and understand the world. Moving from place to place, this effect is heightened: ‘When I looked at a shadow or at melting ice, I wanted to document something I could see, but others might not register,’ he says. ‘For my Icelandic family and friends there was no need to tell a story they already knew.’

Eliasson pays close attention to his surroundings. In his photographs, we see an alertness to different qualities of light and landscape, time and its rhythms. We also see a focus on how people orient themselves and adapt to the country’s harsh climate. The Hekla twilight series 2006 captures subtle changes of light and colour as dusk falls over the snow-covered mountain. We explore a landscape of rivers shaped by glacial meltwater, snow-capped plateaus and tumbling waterfalls through Eliasson’s eyes and camera lens. A rainbow appears cradled by the landscape itself at the base of a waterfall, then is painstakingly recreated in thin veils of watercolour. From a small piece of Icelandic lava rock, Eliasson constructs a model planet, lit by a hidden sun.

– Geraldine Kirrihi Barlow

The Hekla twilight series 2006

Room: ‘Iceland’

Other works from ‘Iceland’:

Room: ‘Iceland’

Other works from ‘Iceland’: