HERVE LESIEURTHE 20-YEAR-OLD HERVE LESIEUR SENT HIMSELF AS A SCULPTURE IN A BOX BY TRUCK TO AN ART SCHOOL AT THE DESTINATION. THE JOURNEY LASTED FOR 28 HOURS AND 45 MINUTES.29.09 - 13.10.1979

On May 30, 1979, at 11 a.m., a remarkable artistic journey began from Divion to Tourcoing in northern France. The 20-year-old Hervé Lesieur sent himself as a sculpture in a box by truck to an art school at the destination. The trip lasted 28 hours and 45 minutes. He explains his experiment as follows:

“My joy is great, since I can use my body in physical performances (performance art), even though I feel fear of being isolated, shut in a box measuring 2 m x 1.20 m. It feels challenging to arrange an experiment in living conditions similar to those to which astronauts are subjected, to test how my body functions in a confined space, to expose myself to certain danger caused by lack of air or similar.”

The journey was documented in photographs and with Hervé Lesieur’s own texts. This material is shown at Galerie S:t Petri in Lund until October 11, 1979.

Some of the results he reported after the journey were, among others, that the box was too small — he could not lie down at all; the box was not sufficiently sealed — it was impossible to use the flashlight because the light would have revealed him; and the ventilation was good.

Paul-Armand Gette writes in his introduction to the exhibition that Hervé Lesieur has paid particular attention to two specific aspects of the artist’s activity — namely packaging and transport. Between the artist and the exhibition there lies precisely the work of packaging and dispatch. This experiment therefore focuses on those forgotten moments that precede and make possible the establishment of an exhibition.

Galerie S:t Petri is open weekdays from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.