JEPPE HEIN: WHY I'M A BIT OBSESSED WITH MIRRORS TOO

Let me tell you about someone who gets mirrors like no one else. Jeppe Hein, the Danish artist based in Berlin, doesn’t just use mirrors to reflect. He uses them to disrupt, transform and play. Walking into one of his installations is like stepping into a parallel universe, where the room sees you back and reality feels like it’s wobbling just a little. That’s exactly the kind of energy I want in my own work.

Mirrors That Talk Back

Take his "Geometric Mirrors" series. You walk past and catch a glimpse of yourself fragmented, warped, duplicated. These aren’t your typical gallery selfies. They push you to think about who’s really looking back. As Hein once said,

“Mirror is a medium. Its ability to create various visual, often illusionary effects interests me most. Artworks with mirrors provide viewers the opportunity for playful interaction and extraordinary reception.”

That hits home. I don’t want people to just look at my work, I want them to experience it.

Getting Lost on Purpose

His "Mirror Labyrinth NY" in Brooklyn Bridge Park was a playground for reflection. Literally. A spiral maze of mirror columns that reflected sky, trees, strangers, you. Suddenly you're part of the artwork, wandering through a landscape that looks familiar but feels alien. It messes with your orientation and wakes you up to the here and now. That tension between play and disorientation is something I love to flirt with in glass. When you don't quite know where you stand, physically or emotionally, you're more open to transformation.

Balloons That Don’t Float, But Lift You Anyway

Then there’s his "Mirror Balloon" series. Honestly, I’m obsessed. Imagine a shiny silver balloon just hovering in a gallery space, except it’s made of chrome-lacquered fibreglass and reflects you, upside down, a little wonky. It’s silly and profound at the same time. Some versions hang just above eye level like they’re about to float away, others are installed in places like Copenhagen’s metro, catching commuters off guard and making them pause. These playful interruptions are art at its most human.

Minimalism with a Glint of Mischief

Even his more subtle works come with a wink. The "Modified Social Benches" scattered across cities look like public benches until you try to sit down. Then you realise you’re climbing, perching, twisting. They force you to interact, to play, to engage with space differently. That balance of structure and surprise is something I want to bring into my own installations, where the viewer doesn’t just view—they become part of the transformation.

Water, Light, and Reflection

Hein’s "Appearing Rooms" uses jets of water to create temporary walls that rise and vanish, forming rooms you can walk through if you dare. One second it’s safe, the next you’re drenched. It’s about trust, timing and that electric moment of surprise. Like working with molten glass, it’s alive, moving, unpredictable. There’s something beautifully vulnerable about putting yourself in the path of the unexpected.

Mirrors Aren’t Just for Checking Your Outfit

Hein shows that mirrors can be mischievous, philosophical, surprising and soulful. They can shift a space, hold a feeling, ask a question. Just like glass. Just like art. When I think about my own practice, especially where I’m heading with installations that play with light and tech, I see huge inspiration in Hein’s work. Not to copy, but to connect. To echo. To play in the same curious sandbox, but with my own fingerprints.

So yes, I’m a little bit obsessed with mirrors too. And if that means one day I get to make a balloon that reflects the sky and someone's inner world at once, count me in.