Reflective Palace by Kimsooja

Reflective Palace - Kim Sooja | This Is Glamorous

A shimmering start to the week, Reflective Palace, is an enchanting art installation from 2006. Titled, “To Breathe – A Mirror Woman”, Korean artist Kimsooja transformed the Palacio de Cristal in Madrid one summer. Using the original architectural structure, the artist reconstructed the interior of the 22-metre high building entirely, placing mirrors on the floor and coating windows in a translucent diffraction film.

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The result was the natural creation of endless rainbows, and viewers were invited to step into this world of wonders. A soundtrack of the artist’s breathing played in the mirrored backdrop, deepening the experience, transforming the Palacio de Cristal into a true place of reflection.

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The interaction between the altered space and the use of sound, encouraged visitors to travel through the palace by following both the artist’s and their own breathing, in a way of reflecting on others and themselves, much like their surrounding surfaces.

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A place that was once built to exhibit flora and fauna from the Philippines, was transformed by Kimsooja into a reflective palace that reconfigured the concept of space and left much for us to think upon and dream about. –Anita

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[Images via art21 // Fun of Art // This is Colossal]