Inspired by his interest in efforts to consider life not from a human-centric but from a bio-centric perspective, Eliasson’s installation conveys more than anything an awareness that “our lives are inextricably entangled with our surroundings and with structures and systems that extend far beyond our local context”, which highlights the often-ignored or forgotten truth that “we are all vulnerable and not fully in control” as he explains. By giving the impression that nature has taken over the institution, Life encourages visitors to expand their perception of nature and reassess their relationship with it, as well as envision a future of peaceful coexistence.

Infused with uranine (a nontoxic bright green dye used to study water flow) in order to make the presence of water more explicit, the flooded galleries take visitors by surprise, more so since in lieu of paintings and sculptures, a variety of dwarf water lilies, shellflowers, water ferns and other water plants are on display. Constituting an ever-shifting canvas of textures, colours and shapes, the floating flora packs quite the visual punch, especially during at night when UV lighting produces a phosphorescent phantasmagoria – visitors are free to explore the exhibition day or night as there are no opening or closing hours.

However, what makes the installation so potent is its unnatural naturalness, a sense of displacement and wonder mixed with familiarity and reverie, as well as its sensory richness. “Through the smells of the plants and water, the sounds of the surroundings, the moisture in the air, visitors are always invited to use more than vision alone to explore the artwork”, the artist says. Combined with the occasional butterfly, bird or even bat that ventures into the open galleries, Life’s unruly ecological blueprint cedes control to both humans and non-humans like plants, animals, microorganism, and the weather – “elements that museums usually work very hard to keep out” as Eliasson points out – welcoming everyone and everything inside both as a gesture of environmental awareness and as a statement of nature and culture’s inseparable connection.