Experimental Sculptures & Installations by Jeppe Hein.

Cage and Mirror (2011)

Light Pavilion (2009)

Broken Mirror Cubes (2005)

Jeppe Hein is a Danish artist based in Berlin and Copenhagen. His work sits “at the junction where art, architecture, and technical inventions intersect.” It’s playful, interactive and experimental, and only when the audience is present do Hein’s sculptures truly come to life. Seriously, boxes vibrate and clatter when approached, walls of water appear and his various mirror works only do their thing when people move around them.

This engagement between audience and art is key to Hein’s work. While they’re simple in form, initially uncomplicated, each work is laden with ideas. Having pieces that literally come alive when approached creates a relationship between art and viewer that can’t be ignored, reminding the audience of their “vital part in activating art’s communicative potential” and at the same time, expanding our “notion of what art is or could be.”

Mobile Mobile (2010)

Triangular Water Pavilion (2007)

Geometric Mirrors V (2012)

4-Dimensional Circle (2011)

“For me,” Hein says, “the concept of sculpture is closely linked with communication… By challenging the physical attention of the viewer, an active dialogue between artwork, surrounding and other visitors is established that lends the sculpture a social quality” – a view that links his work to conceptual art of the 70s rather than traditional sculpture. They’re definitely no statues to simply gaze at from afar.

Two-Way Mirror Mobile (2011)

Changing Neon Sculpture (2006)

Distance (2004)

While inspired by concept, Hein’s sculptures are extremely playful – they’re not about intimidating the audience, but rather to involve them. His sculptures often have an element of surprise or humour, and are rarely static, so it’s hard not to be captivated and quickly feel a part of the work. With this clever interactive element, Hein’s sculptures seem to succeed, drawing us in, bending perception and creating engagement between art and audience.

[Images courtesy of the artist.]