Carsten Höller is a German artist born in Brussels in 1961. Initially, he studied agricultural sciences and earned a PhD in plant pathology (with a thesis on olfactory communication between insects) before fully dedicating himself to art. This scientific background has deeply influenced his artistic approach.
Höller is known for his interactive and experimental installations that challenge perceptions and reality. His works often include playful and immersive elements, such as giant slides, oversized mushrooms, and sensory deprivation tanks. A famous example is Test Site (2006) at Tate Modern in London, where visitors could slide down enormous slides, evoking a sense of disorientation—a metaphor for unconscious displacement, as well as an eco-friendly means of transportation. Another notable work is Upside Down Mushroom Room (2000), which creates a disorienting experience by suspending giant mushrooms from the ceiling, questioning the way we perceive the world. This installation has been permanent since 2018 at the Prada Foundation in Milan.
Höller’s thinking focuses on the active interaction of the public, often placing visitors at the center of experiments that seem scientific. His approach blurs the boundaries between art and science, making his works both intellectually stimulating and enjoyable.

Doubt [april – july 2016] Milano

Carsten Höller’s exhibition titled Doubt, held in Milan from April 7 to July 31, 2016, presented over twenty works, both historical and new productions, arranged along two mirrored and parallel pathways that required the sensory participation of the audience. It was the visitors who could choose how to approach the exhibition and which path to take.

Some of the most notable works on display included:

• Y (2003): An installation made of numerous lightbulbs that flicker intermittently, raising doubt about which direction to choose.
• Upside-Down Goggles (1994 – ongoing): Glasses that invite the audience to see the world upside down.
• Two Flying Machines (2015): Machines that allow visitors to experience the sensation of flying.
• Double Carousel (2011): A carousel for adults that provokes feelings of euphoria and wonder.
• Two Roaming Beds (Grey) (2015): Two beds that continuously move through the exhibition space, allowing visitors to spend an entire night within the exhibition.

The exhibition played with the spatial and temporal coordinates of the venue, developing a journey between symmetry, duplication, and inversion.