From March 26 to April 4, the public can experience ‘A symphony of disappearing sounds for the Great Salt Lake’, an innovative large-scale installation by Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. Hosted every evening in Salt Lake City’s Memory Grove, this project merges an original music score with striking light projections that illuminate a large, elevated sphere after dark.
The electronic music piece incorporates field recordings of local wildlife and environmental activities, drawing from both archival sources and new recordings created for the event. By bringing the lake’s ecosystem sounds to an urban park, Eliasson highlights the delicate balance between human life and the natural environment, making audible what risks disappearing.
This installation is Eliasson’s debut in the Intermountain West and acts as the grand finale of ‘Wake the Great Salt Lake’, a two-year public art initiative addressing the lake’s rapid decline. This initiative, backed by the Salt Lake City Arts Council, the Salt Lake City Mayor’s Office, and Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge, has sponsored temporary works responding to the lake’s crisis. Besides Eliasson’s work, it features 12 projects by local and Utah-affiliated artists, reflecting community concerns and aspirations for the lake’s future.
Known for creating immersive public art, Eliasson has explored perception and environmental awareness throughout his career. His notable works include the 2003 ‘The weather project’ at Tate Modern in London, 2008 ‘The New York City Waterfalls’ along Manhattan and Brooklyn, and ‘Ice Watch’, which placed glacial ice in urban locations like Copenhagen, Paris, and London. In 2024, he showcased ‘Lifeworld’ globally, commissioned by CIRCA, engaging passers-by in uncertain spaces.
The Great Salt Lake’s potential collapse could have severe ecological and economic consequences for the area. ‘A symphony of disappearing sounds for the Great Salt Lake’ uses art as a medium for collective listening and contemplation, urging reflection on what could be lost and what can still be saved.
