Ars Elecronica, Linz

The artist musicians z’ev, Erik Hobijn and Lydia Lunch invited several artists to work on individual pieces which together would create a huge event in a vast steelwork in Linz. I made three works, the first of which was to install instant sculptures in the space made by releasing weighted down helium balloons with wide ribbons attached to suddenly appear in the space making various configurations. I also let off hundreds of luminescent helium balloon that looked like an invasion of UFO’s and, finally, I invited an Austrian police marksman to sit in the rafters and shoot out a star shaped formation of light bulbs to end in darkness.

In a similar balloon release as part of The Last Weekend in Alston, Cumbria, earlier in the year, Performance Magazine wrote :

“The apparently frequent UFO sightings on this stretch of regular flight path over the Pennine way galvanised Anne Bean’s nocturnal performance. These balloons were released one by one… literally breathing as they rose and creating a rare spectacle of reverence for the landscape”

“It was an invocation of great beauty and provided a memorable highlight to the weekend.”
Variant Magazine