An aerial view of a glacier spilling over a dark volcanic escarpment, its meltwater creating waterfalls and a rainbow in a shroud of mist near the surface of the water.

The large Iceland series #8 2012

A river cuts across a snow- and ice-covered plateau, before falling from the cliff edge. At the base of the cliff, a rainbow forms in the fine mist of water. The rainbow seems to be held, cradled tenderly by the landscape, as if the land were a larger protective body.

Olafur Eliasson did not plan to take this photograph. He was in a helicopter on his way to photograph something else when he noticed the waterfall and rainbow. The position of the sun behind him, and his perspective in relation to the mist and light were critical in bringing the rainbow into existence. Speaking about taking this photograph, Eliasson says:

‘I could see the falling water had a certain speed … From this, I could tell it was actually a big waterfall. Generally speaking, the speed of falling water tells us not only how large a waterfall is, but also the scale of the landscape around it. It allows you to understand the size of your body in relationship to the surroundings, and suddenly it is as if the waterfall and the landscape are looking back at you and your scale becomes present to yourself … It all depends on your ability to let the landscape see you back. That can be frightening, it can make you feel vulnerable.’

— Olafur Eliasson

– Geraldine Kirrihi Barlow

Low/no vision audio description

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This large colour photograph, measuring almost one metre high and one and a half metres wide, is displayed at eye level. Its scale is large enough to dominate a visitor’s field of vision, drawing them into the Icelandic landscape it depicts.

The image captures an aerial perspective of a glacier meeting a rocky cliff face in Iceland. The upper half of the composition is dominated by the glacier’s pale white surface, streaked with grey and brown where sediment has settled into the ice. The lower section presents a ridge of dark volcanic rock, its sheer face lined with jagged striations. Along the cliff edge, patches of bright white snow cling to the stone, their luminosity sharpened in contrast to the darker rock beneath.

At the far right of the photograph, a waterfall plunges from the cliff top. Mist rises where the water strikes the ground below, refracting the sunlight into a rainbow. Its arc is faint but distinct, with bands of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet shimmering through the spray. In the foreground, snow, ice and exposed rock mingle at the glacier’s base, textured with evidence of slow but constant movement.

Unlike Eliasson’s photographic series featured in this exhibition, which emphasise repetition and variation, this photograph stands alone. It captures a fleeting intersection of ice, rock, water and light — a moment in a landscape suspended between permanence and change.

– QAGOMA

Jagged ice formations rest on a cliff top, contrasting with dark basalt rock along the cliff face below.

A waterfall cascades down a rocky cliff face, with a vivid rainbow mist hovering above the surface of the water, set against dark volcanic stone.

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 large Iceland series #8 2012

Room: ‘Iceland’

Other works from ‘Iceland’:

Room: ‘Iceland’

Other works from ‘Iceland’: