"Quasi Brick Wall" – Fundación NMAC, Vejer de la Frontera, Cádiz Province, Spain

"Quasi Brick Wall" is the work of Olafur Eliasson. a Danish-Icelandic artist known for sculptures and large-scale installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer’s experience..

From the outset, the artist’s creative interests were focused on the study of sensory perception, the laws of physics and natural conditions. The basic elements of time: water, light, temperature and pressure are the materials that the artist has used throughout his career, introducing natural phenomen in unexpected places. This is also the case in his work undertaken for the NMAC Foundation, where he toys with the perception of the surroundings through light and materialisation.

Through study and research of various mathematic formulae, the artist has invented a geometric figure in the shape of a dodecahedron, which complies with the functions of the "almost perfect" geometric model, constructed in baked clay bricks. With this new type of brick a curved wall was built with the concave side exposed to the light. The bricks, positioned in a random fashion, form a rough, unequal surface in which he has hung several mirrors which reflect sunrays, creating a curtain of light particles which can be made out from different areas of the wood attracting the public’s eye.

Light is a fundamental element in the area where the institution is located, acting as a constant which defines the history, culture and life of the area. Through it, this wall achieves an interactive encounter between the subject and object. As with the rest of his works, the physical spaces that surround us and the external elements form part of the majority these spaces, in the form of devices which activate the work in the presence of the public.

The Fundación NMAC (the Montenmedio Arte Contemporáneo) is a unique space in Spain which explores the space shared by contemporary art and nature. The objective of the NMAC Foundation is to invite international artists to carry out specific artistic projects that are in tune with the landscape. NMAC is a cultural reference in southern Europe also for its educational and cultural programming.