Emily Floyd's rainbow — an unfamiliar scale for a familiar object

Emily Floyd, Australia b.1972 / Steiner rainbow 2006 / Two-part epoxy paint on medium density fibreboard / Nine parts. Part a (dark blue): 54 x 131 x 60cm; part b (light blue): 82 x 160 x 60cm; part c (teal): 96 x 188 x 60cm; part d (dark green): 110 x 217 x 60cm; part e (light green): 124.5 x 245 x 60cm; part f (yellow): 139 x 275 x 60cm; part g (orange): 154 x 303 x 60cm; part h (light red): 166 x 334 x 60cm; part i (deep red): 180 x 362.5 x 60cm. / Gift of the artist through the QAG Foundation 2011. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Emily Floyd

Emily Floyd, Australia b.1972 / Steiner rainbow 2006 / Two-part epoxy paint on medium density fibreboard / Nine parts. Part a (dark blue): 54 x 131 x 60cm; part b (light blue): 82 x 160 x 60cm; part c (teal): 96 x 188 x 60cm; part d (dark green): 110 x 217 x 60cm; part e (light green): 124.5 x 245 x 60cm; part f (yellow): 139 x 275 x 60cm; part g (orange): 154 x 303 x 60cm; part h (light red): 166 x 334 x 60cm; part i (deep red): 180 x 362.5 x 60cm. / Gift of the artist through the QAG Foundation 2011. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Emily Floyd / View full image

Australian artist Emily Floyd comes from a family of artisans who made wooden toys designed for imaginative play. The woodworking machines from her family’s workshop now belong in her studio, where she uses them to create sculptures. Therefore, children’s games have long been a reference in Floyd’s artwork.

The Austrian anthroposophist and social theorist Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), who championed an opened ended and play driven approach to education, inspired the work and title Steiner rainbow 2006. Floyd draws a parallel between educational toys and contemporary art, as mediums that enable people to explore new ideas.

Emily Floyd, Australia b.1972 / Steiner rainbow 2006 / Two-part epoxy paint on medium density fibreboard / Nine parts. Part a (dark blue): 54 x 131 x 60cm; part b (light blue): 82 x 160 x 60cm; part c (teal): 96 x 188 x 60cm; part d (dark green): 110 x 217 x 60cm; part e (light green): 124.5 x 245 x 60cm; part f (yellow): 139 x 275 x 60cm; part g (orange): 154 x 303 x 60cm; part h (light red): 166 x 334 x 60cm; part i (deep red): 180 x 362.5 x 60cm. / Gift of the artist through the QAG Foundation 2011. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Emily Floyd

Emily Floyd, Australia b.1972 / Steiner rainbow 2006 / Two-part epoxy paint on medium density fibreboard / Nine parts. Part a (dark blue): 54 x 131 x 60cm; part b (light blue): 82 x 160 x 60cm; part c (teal): 96 x 188 x 60cm; part d (dark green): 110 x 217 x 60cm; part e (light green): 124.5 x 245 x 60cm; part f (yellow): 139 x 275 x 60cm; part g (orange): 154 x 303 x 60cm; part h (light red): 166 x 334 x 60cm; part i (deep red): 180 x 362.5 x 60cm. / Gift of the artist through the QAG Foundation 2011. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Emily Floyd / View full image

Emily Floyd, Australia b.1972 / Steiner rainbow 2006 / Two-part epoxy paint on medium density fibreboard / Nine parts. Part a (dark blue): 54 x 131 x 60cm; part b (light blue): 82 x 160 x 60cm; part c (teal): 96 x 188 x 60cm; part d (dark green): 110 x 217 x 60cm; part e (light green): 124.5 x 245 x 60cm; part f (yellow): 139 x 275 x 60cm; part g (orange): 154 x 303 x 60cm; part h (light red): 166 x 334 x 60cm; part i (deep red): 180 x 362.5 x 60cm. / Gift of the artist through the QAG Foundation 2011. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Emily Floyd

Emily Floyd, Australia b.1972 / Steiner rainbow 2006 / Two-part epoxy paint on medium density fibreboard / Nine parts. Part a (dark blue): 54 x 131 x 60cm; part b (light blue): 82 x 160 x 60cm; part c (teal): 96 x 188 x 60cm; part d (dark green): 110 x 217 x 60cm; part e (light green): 124.5 x 245 x 60cm; part f (yellow): 139 x 275 x 60cm; part g (orange): 154 x 303 x 60cm; part h (light red): 166 x 334 x 60cm; part i (deep red): 180 x 362.5 x 60cm. / Gift of the artist through the QAG Foundation 2011. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Emily Floyd / View full image

Steiner rainbow is a scaled-up version of the 1970s children stacking toy composed of colourful modular blocks — a puzzle with an infinite number of possibilities. Like the original toy, Floyd’s artwork can also be displayed in a variety of playful configurations. With this work, Floyd is interested in the idea of scale in terms of one’s childhood. When you're young, you see the things you play with as being enormous, however when you look back on them as an adult, they can actually be tiny.

Emily Floyd’s Steiner rainbow 2006, installed in ‘Wonderstruck’, GOMA 2025 accompanied by Syagini Ratna Wulan’s Parhelion 2021 / Photograph: N Umeck © QAGOMA

Emily Floyd’s Steiner rainbow 2006, installed in ‘Wonderstruck’, GOMA 2025 accompanied by Syagini Ratna Wulan’s Parhelion 2021 / Photograph: N Umeck © QAGOMA / View full image

View Emily Floyd's Steiner rainbow 2006 in 'Wonderstruck' at the Gallery of Modern Art or delve into the captivating works on display with our weekly highlights.

Wonderstruck
28 June – 6 October 2025
Gallery of Modern Art
Gallery 1.1 (The Fairfax Gallery), Gallery 1.2 & Gallery 1.3 (Eric and Marion Taylor Gallery)
Brisbane, Australia
Free entry