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Language: en

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I reckon that this dome, here on a windswept
field in Denmark,

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is the world's most frustrating work of art.

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I know that's a bold claim, so let me explain:

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this is Elia, designed by an artist called
Ingvar Cronhammar.

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He's famous for dark, industrial art, art
that looks like machinery,

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art that looks alienating and remote.

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Elia certainly qualifies as all that:

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it's been here near the town of Herning, in
Denmark, since 2001.

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32 metres high, if you include those chimneys.

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The steps up to the viewing gallery are uncomfortably
large,

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it feels like it wasn't designed for humans.

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Comparisons to an alien spaceship that's landed
in the middle of rural Denmark...

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well, they're cliché, but standing here,
they feel about right.

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Something feels wrong about this sculpture.

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Which is all very impressive, but that's not
the frustrating part.

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In the middle, just between those four pillars,
there is a gas burner,

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and it shoots a massive flame eight metres
in the air, a huge blast of fire.

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It's one more ominous, unsettling thing about
this sculpture:

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it might burst into flame at any moment.

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But it probably won't.

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Because it does that, on average,

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for just 25 seconds about once every two or
three weeks.

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At random, decided by a computer.

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It might be months between eruptions.

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It might just be a few days.

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And according to an article in the local news,

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it won't go off if the wind is too high, which
is probably is today,

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or if there are any people too close.

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Elia's web site doesn't tell you when the
flames are going to be,

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it just archives the time and date of all
the ones that you've missed.

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They keep that up to date just to taunt you,
I guess, I don't know.

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And sure, there are a couple of photos or
videos from people online who've been lucky.

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You can go online and see that.

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But you can also go online and see the Mona
Lisa

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in much higher resolution than you ever could
in person, in incredible detail.

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That doesn't stop people crowding into the
Louvre in Paris to fight with selfie sticks.

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There is something about being there.

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So if Elia calls to you, if you want to see
the fire in person,

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you're going to have to camp out and watch
it,

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24 hours a day, maybe for months.

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As for me, I've got about an hour left

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until I have to leave to catch my flight.

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So here's hoping.