Jeppe Hein and the interactive series shaping public space
Published on 08/29/2026 at 16:08 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Jeppe Hein has built a practice around interactive sculptures that only fully exist when visitors step inside them. One of his key works, the water sculpture Endless Connection in Aarhus, surrounds viewers with evolving walls of water and measures roughly 16.2 by 14.4 meters. Hein’s installations link precise engineering with a direct invitation to play and reflect.
Water walls and appearing rooms
Among Hein’s most emblematic series are his outdoor fountain works, where jets of water define temporary architectures. In Endless Connection, installed at Herman Sallings Plads in Aarhus, walls of water rise to around 2.3 meters and create rooms that open and close as the patterns shift. The piece is conceived as a large urban artwork that visitors can walk into, move around and experience as a constantly changing environment.
Earlier, Hein developed the Appearing Rooms fountains, in which water curtains form and dissolve rectangular enclosures that surprise participants with sudden openings and closures. At London’s Southbank Centre, the installation returned for a summer run on the Riverside Terrace, where different sections of the fountain switched on at unpredictable intervals and invited visitors to test their timing as they tried to stay dry. The work has become one of the institution’s most recognizable interactive attractions and demonstrates Hein’s focus on public, playful engagement.
Mirrors, balance and sculptural paths
Hein’s practice extends far beyond fountains, encompassing mirrored labyrinths, participatory benches and circles of balloons that alter how people navigate space. Permanent installations such as Balance of Time in Copenhagen and works at ARKEN in Denmark show his interest in rhythm and movement within everyday routes. These pieces often sit along streets or museum corridors, where they gently disrupt habitual paths.
In large-scale projects like Path of Emotions at Fondation Carmignac in Hyères, Hein orchestrates sculptural sequences that guide viewers through emotional registers, using color, reflection and text to prompt introspection. Other works, including arrangements of colored balloons or circular benches, translate the idea of connection into tangible forms that encourage people to sit, look at one another and talk.
Further reporting on Jeppe Hein
For more background on Jeppe Hein’s interactive sculptures, public installations and museum projects, the AD HOC NEWS archive offers additional news and analyses.
The practice across institutions
Hein’s work appears in a wide range of institutional contexts, from public spaces to collection galleries. At Houghton Hall in Norfolk, several of his installations form part of a permanent sculpture program alongside works by artists such as Richard Long, Rachel Whiteread and James Turrell, integrating his pieces into historic landscape settings. These outdoor works align his practice with a lineage of site-specific sculpture that responds to architecture and gardens.
Museums have dedicated substantial space to his interactive environments. Moderna Museet in Stockholm describes the project Who are you really? as an extensive, museum-wide installation, produced entirely on site and spread across indoor and outdoor areas. Inside, Hein created seven color-coded rooms that correspond to the seven chakras and host simple workshops, underscoring how his installations function as participatory platforms rather than static displays.
How the artist works
Hein’s practice combines technical planning with a strong interest in social interaction. He works across sculpture, installation and performance-related formats, often employing elements like water, light, mirrors and sound to create responsive environments. Projects such as Endless Connection, Appearing Rooms and the chakra rooms at Moderna Museet illustrate his method of building situations where visitors co-create the work through movement, play and reflection.
Where the artist stands now
By all accounts, Jeppe Hein’s interactive installations remain active across multiple public sites and museum programs, with long-running projects such as Endless Connection in Aarhus and Who are you really? at Moderna Museet continuing to shape his current presence.
Key facts on Jeppe Hein
- Artist: Jeppe Hein
- Medium / Genre: Installation and sculpture (interactive)
- Born: 1973, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Place(s) of practice: Studio in Berlin and Denmark
- Active since: late 1990s, with wider recognition in the 2000s
- Key work groups: Appearing Rooms, Endless Connection, Balance of Time, Who are you really?
- Current/last exhibition: Who are you really?, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, produced on site and running across indoor and outdoor spaces
- Major collections: Works in public programs at Houghton Hall (Norfolk), Moderna Museet (Stockholm) and ARKEN Art Museum (Denmark)
- Awards: Selected honors and commissions, including major public art projects in Aarhus and London
- Next date: ongoing presentations in Aarhus and Stockholm without a fixed end in the current 30-day window
Frequently asked questions about Jeppe Hein
Which Jeppe Hein work uses high walls of water?
The large-scale fountain Endless Connection in Aarhus consists of over two meter high water walls forming changing spaces, with a footprint of about 16.2 by 14.4 meters.
Where has Jeppe Hein’s Appearing Rooms been shown?
Appearing Rooms has been installed at London’s Southbank Centre on the Riverside Terrace, where the interactive fountain ran as a popular summer attraction with unpredictable water rooms.
How does Moderna Museet present Jeppe Hein’s work?
Moderna Museet in Stockholm describes Who are you really? as a museum-wide project produced on site, featuring indoor and outdoor installations as well as seven chakra-inspired rooms with participatory workshops.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
