Olafur Eliasson’s new public art project Lifeworld, commissioned by CIRCA in collaboration with WeTransfer, is transforming the bright displays of five world capitals into expansive abstract digital canvases, challenging the commercial and sensational nature of these urban screens.

As guest curator for WeTransfer’s WePresent initiative, Eliasson has created five site-specific works that will be displayed every evening at 20:24 on Piccadilly Circus screens in London, in K-Pop Square in Seoul, at the Limes Kurfürstendamm in Berlin, and across 92 screens in Times Square, New York, starting in November. The artwork will also be accessible on WeTransfer’s online platform, allowing viewers worldwide to engage with its digital version 24/7.

Conceived as an invitation to question the value of diversity in the collective perception of public space, to reflect on the sensorial relationships that daily connect each individual to the urban environment, Lifeworld sets its conceptual basis on audience engagement, Eliasson’s focal point of his artistic investigation. In each iteration, the public is encouraged to confront the ephemeral and indistinct character of the images that, the artist explains, mirror these uncertain and confusing times, prompting us to reconsider our responsibilities and shared feelings.