When I stepped into the Vancouver Art Gallery’s Rotunda, I was instantly enveloped in colour, rhythm, and joy. Zobop (Colour-Chrome), the latest installation by Glasgow-based artist, DJ, and musician Jim Lambie, transforms the gallery’s grand neoclassical heart into something alive and playful. Known internationally for his dazzling floor and staircase installations crafted from industrial vinyl tape, Lambie draws inspiration from the language of pop culture and music, bringing movement and emotion to static architectural spaces.
What struck me most about Zobop (Colour-Chrome) was how it changes with each environment, adapting like a living organism. In the Vancouver Art Gallery, the work radiates optimism and pure joy in the midst of today’s chaotic world. As someone who has called Vancouver home for the past nine years, I left the gallery with a renewed sense of connection to this city, to art, and to the idea of constant transformation. Zobop (Colour-Chrome) reminded me that adapting to new spaces doesn’t mean losing ourselves; it means learning to move with the rhythm of change. Just like Lambie’s work, we, too, can find our own colours amid shifting patterns: vibrant, resilient, and endlessly alive.
To explore the ideas behind this kaleidoscopic transformation, I spoke with Eva Respini, curator of the exhibition and Interim Co-CEO of the Vancouver Art Gallery. In our conversation, Respini reflects on Lambie’s process, the power of colour, and how Zobop (Colour-Chrome) turns the simple act of walking through a gallery into an experience of wonder, community, and hope.
Ayşe Acar: What does Zobop mean?
Eva Respini: The word “Zobop” was conceived by Lambie; its meaning is open, like the work itself. The title is an homage to the Bebop movement, drawing from the progressions in Jazz music. Lambie brings together language, rhythm, and colour, and the word “Zobop” carries a kind of musicality and movement that reflects the experience of encountering the work.
Ayşe Acar: What drew you to bringing Zobop (Colour-Chrome) to the Vancouver Art Gallery’s Rotunda, and how do you think it transforms the visitor’s experience of this iconic space?
Eva Respini: The Rotunda is the architectural heart of the Gallery—a grand, neoclassical space that invites awe. Lambie’s Zobop (Colour-Chrome) transforms that formality into something alive, dynamic, and joyful. The floor becomes a painting, the staircase becomes a sculpture, and visitors become part of the composition simply by moving through it. The work reclaims the space as a place of play, colour, and community.
Ayşe Acar: How does Lambie’s work challenge traditional ideas of what belongs in a museum or how audiences should engage with contemporary art?
Eva Respini: Lambie merges the boundary between art and life by working directly with architecture and using everyday materials, in this case industrial vinyl tape. He invites movement and touch, drawing attention to the act of moving through space and turning the mundane journey up or down a stairwell into a psychedelic, performative experience. The Gallery becomes less of a static space and more of a living, participatory environment.
Ayşe Acar: How do you want people to interact with this artwork? What do you want them to feel?
Eva Respini: I hope people allow themselves to feel joy. I want them to be surprised—to look down, to move differently, to take in the colour and energy of the space. At the opening we saw visitors lying on the floor and dancing in the space. It’s an artwork that demands your body’s participation. It changes your perception, and maybe even your mood. I think of it as a collective experience of wonder.
Ayşe Acar: Could you speak to the materials and process used to create this work? How long did it take?
Eva Respini: Lambie’s process is meticulous. Each strip of industrial vinyl tape is applied by hand, layer upon layer, following the contours of the architecture. It’s a labour-intensive process of repetition and precision. The installation in the Rotunda took several weeks to install.
Ayşe Acar: How does Zobop (Colour-Chrome)reflect the Gallery’s broader interest in activating public space and making art a participatory, social experience?
Eva Respini: We’re thinking deeply about how the Gallery can function as a gathering place— where art becomes a convener for communities to imagine together. Zobop (Colour-Chrome) embodies that philosophy. It turns a transitional space into a destination; a staircase into an immersive, energetic experience. It reminds us that art can be immediate, collective, and joyful.
Ayşe Acar: Why do we need more art and colour in today’s world?
Eva Respini: In a time when the world can feel heavy and uncertain, art that sparks joy and connection has profound value. Zobop (Colour-Chrome)has the ability to lift our spirits and remind us that connection, play, and imagination are forms of resilience. Lambie’s work invites us to see the world as full of possibility. It’s truly a gift to Vancouver.
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