monochrome

Previously posted photographs

« previous   |   index   |   next »

Take your time: Olafur Eliasson at PS1, NYC

I met Yw Sunday afternoon to tour the Olafur Eliasson exhibit at PS1. We had lunch at a diner near the museum and then made our way there. In the courtyard we sat on cut cardboard tubes. Black rubber stretched over their mouths to make drums or chairs; you could alternately beat or let yourself be cradled by them. We chose the latter and sat until the sun emerged from the haze. We had no sunscreen.

In the museum, we made our way directly to the rooms that housed Eliasson's work. His forms and photographs lined the walls of the galleries that surrounded a main central room. In the center room, a large rotating mirror on the ceiling reflected the floor. People were sprawled about, looking up at their reflections. Yw and I lay down; we appeared stuck to the ceilling. We began to create hieroglyphics with our bodies. We traced shapes, moving slowly between them like synchronized swimmers. We spent an hour lying on the floor, looking up at the tableaux we created.

People stopped to take pictures. We strew our personal affects around us and pretended to fall through the air. People wandered in and out, lining up to leave.

By the time we left, storm clouds had covered the Brooklyn skies. We ordered drinks and sat on the patio overlooking the courtyard and watched the rain. Desaturated flags flew from top of the museum; their grey forms echoed the skies.