Olafur Eliasson’s exhibition ‘Presence’ challenges visitors’ senses and perception

A new Olafur Eliasson exhibition lands at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art this season, inviting audiences into a universe shaped by perception, light, and multi-sensory art. Opening December 6th, 2025 and running through July 12th, 2026, Olafur Eliasson: Presence transforms GOMA’s ground floor into an immersive landscape where visitors become co-creators of the experience.

Reframing perception in an Olafur Eliasson exhibition

Drawing on more than three decades of Olafur Eliasson’s artistic practice, the exhibition, Presence, presents a curated selection of early milestones and monumental new commissions. The exhibition explores the artist’s fascination with the way individuals interpret the world, such as how one person might see a rainbow where another sees only mist, or how shifting light can alter the perception of space.

At the heart of the show is the large-scale installation Presence 2025, a glowing, atmospheric work that simulates a vast shifting sun inside the gallery. Nearby, the magnetic sculpture Lost compass (2013) appears to hover in mid-air, prompting reflections on orientation, time, and inner navigation.

Multi-sensory art as a guiding principle

The exhibition emphasises multi-sensory art as a way of heightening awareness. Among the highlights is Eliasson’s early piece Beauty (1993), where a fine curtain of mist catches angled light to reveal a rainbow only visible from certain perspectives. In contrast, Pluriverse assembly (2021) plays with mirrored surfaces and moving reflections, creating an environment that reshapes itself as viewers move through it.

Two beloved QAGOMA works deepen the sensory experience. Riverbed (2014) recreates a rugged Icelandic terrain with flowing water, encouraging visitors to physically navigate its rocky path. The cubic structural evolution project (2004), an all-white LEGO city continuously rebuilt by the public, foregrounds participation and imaginative play.

Presence invites audiences to slow down, observe, and reconsider how they connect with others and with the environment. Each work underscores the idea that perception is both personal and shared—a moving target shaped by curiosity and attention.

Discover Olafur Eliasson’s reflections on how science and art intertwine to inform our sense of ethics. Our conversation delves into perception, symbiosis, and the importance of shifting from consumption to cooperation.