Dearq

Dearq | eISSN 2215-969X

Light, Simulacra, and Script in The Weather Project: Light Art as a Mechanism for Perceptual Control and Behavioral Modulation

No. 44 (2026-01-30)
  • María Redondo Pérez
    Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, España
https://doi.org/10.18389/dearq44.2026.07

Abstract

The Weather Project is the installation that catapulted Olafur Eliasson to international recognition and stands as a paradigmatic example of the relationship between architecture and contemporary art. This study examines the installation as a device for perceptual transformation, analyzing recurrent variables in contemporary immersive installations such as affect, simulacra, atmospheres, scripts, and anthropocentrism. It argues that visitors' behavior—far from being autonomous—is induced by a lighting scenography that alters the environment and guides bodily movement. The methodology combines critical theory, visual analysis, and planimetric development to demonstrate how hyperreal experiences and atmospheres are produced to exert control over sensory experience.

Keywords: The Weather Project, script, atmosphere, light art, performance, hiperreal

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