Olafur Eliasson
3D Fivefold Symmetry, 2000
Olafur Eliasson (1967)
3D Fivefold Symmetry, 2000
Construction cardboard
60 x 60 x 60 cm
This three-dimensional paper sculpture is one of Eliasson’s explorations into fivefold symmetry, in this case helping create a perfectly symmetrical arrangement of five cubes within each other. Eliasson’s use of cardboard and paper folding unsettles some of the formality of the piece precisely because of the use of a simple and familiar material. By recalling traditional Chinese paper folding (zhenzhi), Eliasson’s work continues to reflect on how space is made in art and craft from outside the Western tradition; for as he illustrates the cultural influences over how we see, understand and experience space, he also allows a reflection upon our surroundings as they exist.