Action: The audience enters a space in order to encounter a white table with two white chairs set on each side, whilst the artist arrives to take a seat, holding a hand-operated air pump. After a brief period of stillness, the artist places his elbow on the table and holds up his right hand, extending an invitation to audience members for an arm-wrestling trial. Any person interested in joining this trial, takes a seat at the table opposite the artist, and clasps his palm, applying force in order to push the artist’s hand onto the table. The artist uses his left arm in order to pump air into a balloon that is placed over his right bicep, in between his skin and long sleeve t-shirt. Air flows into the balloon, enlarging his bicep muscle, whilst plastic tubing runs through his clothing and connects the air pump with the balloon. As a response to the force applied by audience members, and according to the level of fatigue experienced from consecutive trials, the artist enlarges the bicep balloon until it almost covers his face, as observed from the table’s front side. When the balloon suddenly bursts, the artist unclasps his palm from the last participating audience member, removes his t-shirt in order to reveal the bicep’s mechanism, placing all used material onto the table and exits the exhibition’s space.

I got the power (Training for performance #8)

Performance / Part of exhibition "Mythology & Fairytales" curated by Jesper Dalmose + Lennox Raphael for art festival "Berlin Soup" / Back to Athens / Athens - GR / June - 2016 / Duration: 45'

Material: artist’s body, white table, 2 white chairs, red balloon, air pump, plastic tube, audience members

Photo: Jenny Kontopoulou