Belgian artist Carsten Höller's life-size 'Golden Mirror Carousel' re-imagines the physical and mental experience of both the traditional fairground and the museum space. Installed in the Federation Court of the National Gallery of Victoria, the carousel is made entirely of gold mirrors, rotating only once every few minutes.
Holler said of the work: "The mirror reflects the surroundings and the movement means that what is reflected is constantly changing. If you are sitting inside it you see that it is reflecting itself. It’s as though you could suddenly be able to look around the corner – like a periscope into different viewpoints you wouldn’t normally have access to. The word ‘reflection’ also has a double meaning because it produces a very meditative state. One of the very reasons I do the carousel is to reflect upon the idea that the museum has become an amusement park."
A short video I produced of the work installed:
'Golden Mirror Carousel' is supported by the Loti & Victor Smorgon Fund and is presented by Melbourne Festival and National Gallery of Victoria, with the assistance of Gagosian, New York.