Pedestrian Vibes Study

These photogravures are the result of Elisasson’s experiments with light waves and movement. Drawing on his experience as a breakdancer, Eliasson attached LED lamps to his body and moved through a dark space, using a camera with a slow shutter speed to document it.

He explains, “To better grasp the space in which experiences emerge requires us to take a closer look at our bodies and what they do… In ballet, space is taken for granted as a container of movement; dancers aspire to defeat gravity, to become weightless. Aerial friction is eliminated. While street dance, like miming, can exaggerate friction and make visible what is otherwise invisible: the wind, gravity. This thought helped me with my own street dance and later with my artworks. The idea of rendering space actively with your body, of creating and making space felt, has been key ever since.”