Credit: J. ZIEHE/O. ELIASSON

Built specifically for the vast, multistorey space of the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern in London, Olafur Eliasson's installation The Weather Project is mesmerizing. A huge sun blazes at the far end of the hall, its light diffused by artificial fog, creating a dynamic microclimate.

The Danish–Icelandic artist's work investigates the dichotomy between nature and culture. Here he tackles the weather, a ubiquitous topic of conversation, which he says “somehow defines a sense of community, within which conflicting views can be accommodated, such as liking or not liking rain”. By introducing meteorological variables — water, light, temperature and pressure — into artificial, built environments, he encourages viewers to reflect on their understanding of the natural world and their relationship to it. Eliasson is intrigued by perception and describes the moment when people pause to consider what they are experiencing as “seeing yourself sensing”. But even though all is not as it seems, his aim is to heighten people's awareness of their perception, not to deceive them.

At ground level, visitors can clearly see machines pumping artificial haze into the hall and the bank of mono-frequency lamps that powers the semicircular 'sun'. From above, they can observe that the reflective 'sky' is suspended from the ceiling, both doubling the hall's apparent height and reflecting the half 'sun' to form a whole.

The Weather Project can be seen at Tate Modern in London until 21 March 2004. The work is the subject of an extensively illustrated book, Olafur Eliasson: The Weather Project, edited by the installation's curator, Susan May (Tate Publishing, £19.99)