After commemorating Earth Day 2020 with his interactive social media project Earth Perspectives, Olafur Eliasson sheds light on endangered animals, as well as certain objects we take for granted, such as the compass, with his first-ever augmented reality (AR) project WUNDERKAMMER.

Typical of Olafur’s works that deal with climate change while utilizing elemental materials such as light, water, and air, the virtual project consists of AR artworks that evoke natural elements such as a glowing sun, a shimmering rainbow, and a cloud that emits rain, all available for audiences to collect digitally, reaching communities across the globe. All AR artworks are testable by downloading the Acute Art app.

 

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We’re excited to share WUNDERKAMMER, 2020, a new artwork by Olafur with @acuteart_ (download link for the artwork in the bio). You’re invited to create your own cabinet of curiosities in augmented reality by bringing objects, outdoor phenomena, and smaller spatial experiments by Olafur to your home or environment – a sun, a puffin, a ladybird, or flowers, a compass or a rainy cloud. It’s a meeting up of personal space and art. Working with installation art for decades, Olafur has said that his ‘experimental setup’ is only one part of the artwork. Ultimately art emerges from the meeting up of the artistic setup, its environment, and people. With WUNDERKAMMER this meeting up becomes explicit and felt. ‘Today, where physical distancing guides our lives, it’s as crucial as ever that we surround ourselves with things and atmospheres that really matter to us. All elements of the WUNDERKAMMER play a role in my life. Some are objects that we normally take for granted – and I feel they should be celebrated like the wonders they, in fact, are. Other elements in the collection will be more experimental, such as light sculptures and objects that are invisible to the eye until you ‘catch’ them with your hand. The artwork is about challenging our perception of the everyday and actively welcoming that which lies on the boundary between the known and the unknown. It is about creating spaces that meld the everyday and the extraordinary – spaces that evoke vivid perceptions and embodied engagement.’ – Olafur The Acute App is available both on the App Store and on Google Play. Share your photos and videos using #oeWUNDERKAMMER.

A post shared by Studio Olafur Eliasson (@studioolafureliasson) on May 14, 2020 at 4:41am PDT