Bloomberg's Vortex

Eliasson's site-specific artwork is one of many pieces installed in the two-building complex (linked by a pedestrian arcade) in the City of London. Some of the other artists involved include Arturo Herrera, Cristina Iglesias, Isabel Nolan, David Tremlett, and Pae White. No future is possible without a past garners a good deal of attention given its location and apparently viscous surface; although it resembles a liquid, it is actually polished metal formed into a rippling surface.

Visitors to the office building confront the artwork overhead inside the Vortex, "a literal and metaphorical 'twist' on the classic timber-paneled lobbies that define many London buildings," per Bloomberg's press materials. The two-sided installation also sits at the base of the triple-helix ramp above the lobby, where it looks like a pool of water. 

While the optical illusion upstairs is rooted in tradition – both in terms of landscape elements and the laws of physics – the overhead surface downstairs is much more unexpected. And with Eliasson's artwork in place, the Vortex is sure to be a popular spot for funhouse selfies taken from below.