Dezeen Magazine

Shadow City by Izabela Boloz

Building-shaped cut-outs cast the shadow of a city onto a wall in this Copenhagen installation by Polish designer Izabela Boloz (+ slideshow + movie).

Shadow City by Izabela Boloz features 52 silhouettes in the shape of buildings, ships, boats, birds and fish. Each graphic is fitted to a transparent plastic sheet and positioned horizontally over a walkway at the edge of Sortedams Sø lake in Copenhagen's central Østerbro district.

The shadows fall across a 100-metre-long green-painted wall below and slowly change throughout the day as the sun moves across the sky.

Shadow Stories by Izabela Boloz
Shadow Stories by Izabela Boloz

"Shadow City comes alive with the rising sun as the shadows travel across the wall," said Boloz. "A playful image of a city appears, inspired by the history of Copenhagen, and changes as it slowly moves across the wall with the changing position of the sun."

Shadow Stories by Izabela Boloz
Shadow Stories by Izabela Boloz

The whole project can be viewed by standing on a nearby pedestrian bridge.

"The installation introduces an element of surprise and intrigue, inviting the passers-by to observe the changing details in our surroundings," Boloz explained. "As inhabitants of Copenhagen pass over the pedestrian bridge on their way to school, work or play, they will see the image of the city slowly travel across the wall, changing with every hour and every season."

Shadow Stories by Izabela Boloz
Shadow Stories by Izabela Boloz

Shadow City will be on display until the autumn of 2014.

Shadow Stories by Izabela Boloz
Shadow Stories by Izabela Boloz

Other installations we've featured recently include an Escher-style installation outside the Tate Modern in London and bent bamboo walkways and seating by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma.

See more installations »
See more design and architecture from Copenhagen »

Shadow Stories by Izabela Boloz
Shadow Stories by Izabela Boloz

Photographs are courtesy of Izabela Boloz.

Here's a project description from the designer:


Shadow City

Sunlight and shadows are the materials in a public space installation Shadow City by Izabela Boloz in the picturesque district of Østerbro in Copenhagen.

Shadow Stories by Izabela Boloz
Shadow Stories by Izabela Boloz

With a series of 52 graphics that cast their shadows onto a 100 metre wall on the lake, Shadow City comes alive with the rising sun as the shadows travel across the wall. A playful image of a city appears, inspired by the history of Copenhagen, and changes as it slowly moves across the wall with the changing position of the sun.

Shadow City reveals the artist's fascination with the passing of time. The installation introduces an element of surprise and intrigue, inviting the passers-by to observe the changing details in our surrounding.

Shadow Stories by Izabela Boloz
Shadow Stories by Izabela Boloz

As inhabitants of Copenhagen pass over the pedestrian bridge on their way to school, work or play, they will see the image of the city slowly travel across the wall, changing with every hour and every season.

Shadow Stories by Izabela Boloz
Shadow Stories by Izabela Boloz

Shadow City has been created in collaboration with Metro Copenhagen within a program to introduce art in public spaces in Copenhagen. The installation will be on view from the summer of 2013 until the autumn of 2014.