art OLAFUR ELIASSON AND THOMAS DEMAND
two major contemporary artists discuss re-engineering the state of the planet and designing new civic systems and aesthetics for the immediate future
portrait by MAXIME BALLESTEROS
THOMAS DEMAND — Why do you think so many artists are obsessed with the universe and the stars: cosmic origins, space, and time? Is it because it’s the final frontier?
OLAFUR ELIASSON — We should start with the same question, but slightly wider: why do the editors of Purple want to make an issue about the cosmos?
THOMAS DEMAND — Because the most relevant topic right now is that the Earth is basically on the brink of collapsing.
OLAFUR ELIASSON — I see. So, the cosmos question comes out of…
THOMAS DEMAND — Concerns about climate change. The greater idea of, “Are we aware of what scale our life right now has?” I don’t think it’s…