Discovering Ecological Relations in Olafur Eliasson’s Exhibition at Museum MACAN
We visited Museum MACAN on 28 November in mourning for the ecological disaster that had struck Sumatra in recent days. Grief and anger merged into a single unease; a reckoning with our relationship, as humans, to the natural world that has sustained us all this time. Upon entering the exhibition space, we were invited to reflect on natural phenomena, ecological interdependence, and the everyday journey of being human. Your curious journey, Olafur Eliasson’s first solo exhibition in Indonesia, presents more than three decades of the Danish-Icelandic artist’s practice.
During the press conference, one line from Eliasson lingered with us: “Vegetate your mind.” Through his works, he emphasizes that human perspectives must be rooted in ecological consciousness. Natural phenomena and objects possess their own agency, extending beyond their traditional role as subjects of observation. Through elements like light, water, fog, and even invisible forces such as magnetism, Eliasson creates immersive environments where forms, shadows, sensations, and rhythms feel alive. Visitors are urged to renew their awareness, activate their senses in unfamiliar ways, and reorient their thinking toward the cosmos.
The exhibition invites visitors to pause and reconnect not only with themselves but also with the environment around them. Eliasson encourages us to see through a new lens, embracing uncertainty as a space that reshapes how we navigate and understand life. “Artwork is only completed when you, the visitors, engage with your curiosity,” he said. “To nurture curiosity is to open yourself to listening, to encountering the unexpected, and to embracing change.” His work Multiverses and futures (2017), presented in Jakarta, embodies this approach: a kaleidoscope that offers fragmented, unfamiliar perspectives of the surrounding environment. Like the exhibition as a whole, the work invites full sensory engagement, urging visitors to reconsider their perceptions of themselves, the museum, and the world.
Eliasson’s works also remind us that we are not beings separate from nature; rather, we are part of an expansive, interconnected ecosystem in which every element carries significance. At Museum MACAN, this journey encourages visitors to embrace ecological awareness and celebrate the richness of diverse cultural viewpoints. It serves as a reminder that small gestures can trigger ripple effects that shape a more sustainable narrative. Your curious journey offers a rare opportunity to witness how nature communicates through its signs and signals.
Venus Lau, Director of Museum MACAN, shared, “We are honored to present Olafur Eliasson’s transformative exhibition, Your curious journey to Jakarta, inviting visitors to engage deeply with nature, colors, lights, and elements that invite us to rethink our roles as humans within the ongoing process of worlding, perception, and environmental connection through his groundbreaking works. This exhibition exemplifies the powerful bond between art and ecological thinking that resonates across cultures, encouraging us to embrace our responsibilities, acknowledge our limits, and deepen our relationship with the natural world.”
Eliasson added, “The artworks I am showing in Your curious journey have covered great distances to arrive in Jakarta. They come from many locations and reflect diverse moments from the last three decades of my practice. They have their own tales, their own itineraries. Each bears the marks of its creation and the challenges that led it to assume the particular form in front of you. They carry within them a mixture of intentions, interpretations, and contexts, and they react to the specific conditions of the exhibition. Here, at MACAN, they come together in a new arrangement that is different from any before or after, including some artworks that have not been seen together in previous iterations of this traveling exhibition.”
Olafur Eliasson: Your curious journey opens to the public at Museum MACAN on 29 November 2025 and runs until 12 April 2026.
