Surprising freestanding waterfall at famous French landmark
Olafur Eliasson – Waterfall, 2016, crane, water, stainless steel, pump system, hose, ballast, Chateau de Versailles, Versailles, France
Photo: Anders Sune Berg
In his 2016 work on the Versailles waterfall, Olafur Eliasson made displacements and destabilization which have changed the perceptions people had about the famous landmark. Before he began his work, he approached the Chateau and gardens of Versailles to experiment whether the project was implementable. His work didn’t involve installation of objects, but rather coming up with an apparatus which kept visitors engaged. The erection of the ‘waterfall’ in the Grand Canal where a surge of water rushes down a crane standing tall in the air turned into a major tourist attraction. This installation was inspired by Louis XIV’s landscape architect André Le Nôtre who had a vision of creating a waterfall in the palace gardens, but he passed on before he did it.
