Mr. X, who up until now has been an unknown artist from Salzgitter in Germany, staged a major environment for his neighbors by leaving all the taps of the kitchen sink, bath tub and toilet of his apartment running non-stop for an entire year. The event became a live performance in October 2017 when he blocked the drains and let the water run freely and flood his building, possibly also entering the external environment of the street. The prospect of water flowing down the stairs and seeping through the ceiling of the apartment below, all created by Mr. X, must have been quite visually exciting, while also being an amazing show of ingenuity. The main actors of this art form were the residents of Mr X’s building and the policemen who intervened; the material he used was water.
The vision of the water must have been irresistible to Mr. X, overflowing from the kitchen sink with a lovely waterfall of cold water and even more strikingly from over the bathtub. The water, slowly traveling across the floor and soaking into his carpets, would have quickly given rise to various small objects and papers floating around his living space, or rather, display area. The water leaking under the door from his apartment to the stairway and elevator shaft must have been his “momento clou” (moment of glory) and surely also would have been when his neighbors finally became involved in the performance. They would not only have experienced the happening visually, but must have also had to have contact physically with the water invading these closed and unique art spaces. The aesthetic aspect of this installation is most certainly hard to resist, cascades of water falling in every direction, following its gravitational flow.
However damaging this event unfortunately was, it must have been quite spectacular, something many children often dream of doing, though only few dare to try. Have we before us an artist who is unaware of even being one? Perhaps we need to also blur the boundaries of what is recognized as an art form.
Though Mr. X had to be subdued by four police officers and covered with pepper spray to be removed to a psychiatric ward for evaluation, he has indeed created a live event. Considering the worldwide reviews he has received with his original installation, the £10,000 spent on water consumption, apart from the obvious waste of water, plus other unspecified damages to be paid for building repairs, is a small amount for so much publicity gained. No promotional efforts could have made a more powerful impact than what the media did for him for free in the news. It may, however, be his last and only performance.
NAE does not encourage this kind of installation art, nor support it in any form. At this writing, Mr. X’s real name has been withheld from the press.
Pendery Weekes in Germany
Volume 32 no 3 Jan/Feb 2018 p 31