Little Sun Light Swarm at Tivoli Gardens
“Little Sun and I teamed up to create the Little Sun Light Swarm lamps for Tivoli Gardens, to shine a light both in Copenhagen and in rural Africa – the proceeds from the project will go to support Little Sun’s work in remote areas of Africa, bringing solar energy to communities living off grid.”
– Olafur Eliasson
Just in time for the spring opening of Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Little Sun Light Swarm is creating a buzz in the eco-conscious, historic theme park.
Visitors to the park can view the installation of thirty-three lamps, created by Olafur and Little Sun, in consultation with Tivoli’s design office and lighting designer Jesper Kongshaug, hovering mesmerizingly in the trees along Tivoli Lake. Creating a link between the iconic park and greater Copenhagen, the lamps can also be sighted by cyclists or pedestrians passing by on H. C. Andersens Boulevard outside the park. The magical atmosphere created by Tivoli for generations, with its rollercoasters and carousels, now spills out onto the streets of Copenhagen in the form of kaleidoscopic light; blurring the place of dreams with the reality of the city streets, to spark the imagination.
At a press conference, Olafur revealed the unique design of the lamps with their distinct shape, diverse colours and changing appearance – from transparent to luminous. The thirty-three lamps are constructed from two identical intersecting geometric bronze frames around a tetrahedral core. Panels of dichromatic glass and polished stainless steel mirrors are set into the frames in five different combinations. The lamps change colour as the passers-by move past and around them although only one type of glass has been used; this effect is caused by the dichromatic glass, which filters some wavelengths and reflects others. A cluster of LEDs illuminate the lamps from within a faceted lens at the core, producing ambient lighting at night. Taken together, the lamps create a shimmering, multi-coloured swarm swaying gently in the breeze.
The collaboration creates an appealing parallel between Little Sun’s ongoing ability to change lives through sharing light, and Tivoli’s long history of using light to create a magical atmosphere and ignite creativity.
So if you’ve been looking for that artistic or cultural “excuse” to jump aboard a virtual reality rollercoaster at Tivoli, perhaps Little Sun Light Swarm will give you just what you need…
Little Sun Light Swarm Facts
Size: 100 x 100 x 150 cm
Weight per lamp: 35–55 kg
Location: installed above Eywin Langkilde’s 1955 Hanging Gardens
Design: Olafur Eliasson and Little Sun
Photos: Tivoli and Mathias Fjeldborg
