2008

On the occasion of Explore Sites and Sounds -the London Festival of Architecture and the Exhibition Road Music Day- the Goethe-Institut is presenting:

Exhaust 19-06-08
Fresh air is one of our most fundamental requirements. However, the process of breathing and its impact on the space that surrounds us are seldom given a second thought.

Exhaust 19-06-08 involves a 24-hour performance during which the exhaled air of a single person is carefully collected for an entire day via a respiratory mask, which allows for the inhalation of air from the surrounding space while concentrating all exhaled air into a series of large silver foil balloons.

At the end of the 24-hour period it is predicted that approximately 80 large silver foil balloons will have been filled with exhaled air – consumed space. During the 24-hour installation process these balloons will be collected into a large mass in the form of a vapour trail that will stretch up the Goethe-Institut stairwell to present our daily requirement for fresh air.

It is through the quantifiable consumption of fresh air that this work reveals our active relationship with the space that surrounds us, and our reliance on ample fresh air within buildings and the environment as a whole.

The performance and installation will take place on 19 June and will be open to the public from 8.30am-7.00pm.
The following four weeks the installation will be open to the public: Mon-Fri 8.30am-7.00pm, Sat 8.30am-1.00pm.

Supported by Arts Council England and the Lane Fox Respiratory Unit.

Credits: David Rickard, Exhaust 19-06-08. Photography: Anders Kjaergaard and Sue Parkhill.