November 1999
Installation near Como in Italy, birthplace of Alessandro Volta. Volta invented the battery and had a unit of electricity (the volt) named after him. Strangely, on my first night in Como, there was a power cut.
December 1999
Pencil installed in the hedge of the Freud Museum, London. Entry
to the museum is through a gate in this hedge, which I think is formed from the plant Buxus sempervirens.
July 2000
Installation on Monte Urgull, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain. Shortly before completing the installation, I was excited to discover that the Museo del Cemento Rezola (The Museum of Cement) had recently opened in the city. Had
I been staying on, I would have visited, but the next day I had to catch a train to France where I was meeting a friend.
December 2000
Installation on the uplifted foreshore, Napier, New Zealand. During the 1931 earthquake, the whole area around the city tilted upwards by about 2 metres.
January 2000
Installations made while travelling in Switzerland. Of these, installations 67, 40, and 74 were probably the most successful. As I was crossing the border back into Germany, I discovered that this region was the former home of William Tell. I wondered if, like Hegel, Tell had been an idealist and pondered on attempts to translate the sublime vision into everyday life; in short, to practise utopia.
December 2001
Installation made adjacent to the East Cape Lighthouse, New Zealand, during a severe tropical cyclone. The lighthouse building was originally established on the neighbouring island but had to be relocated to its present position when the island began to collapse.
July 2002
Installation in the garden of the Chateau de Courances, France. Designed in the mid 1600’s by Andre le Notre the garden was apparently visited by the writer Marcel Proust in 1903. During the French Revolution the owner was guillotined.
June 2002
After an afternoon of failed attempts, I made this installation on a table in a bar on the corner of Singel and Torensteeg (Centrum), Amsterdam.
December 2002
Installation near the Musick Point Radio Station, Auckland, New Zealand. Musick Point was named after the pioneer aviator Captain Musick and is said to have been one of the haunts of Mr Asia, who did some of his drug dealing in the car park. In my opinion, this could be the reason the council now closes the gate at night.
May 2003
Installation on the roof of the Sa Rang Bang Motel, Seoul, South Korea. A woman in the hotel told me that the CIA had an office nearby.
June 2003
Installation on the site of the prime meridian, longitude 0°, Greenwich, England. I took a train from London Bridge Station to Greenwich, on what is said to be the world's oldest suburban line. The train was very late arriving at London Bridge, but the driver said it wasn't his fault; a strike on the tubes had caused unforeseen problems.
May 2003
Installation between Australia and New Zealand on an outdoor map in Seoul. Buddha's birthday was being celebrated at the time.
October 2003
Installation made on the roadway near Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia. About half of Sydney Harbour has a depth of 9 metres or more at low water.
July 2004
This failed installation took place on the steps of the Panthéon in Paris, France. Two security guards with machine guns told me that installations were forbidden there. I had gone to Paris hoping to see Foucault’s Pendulum, which is installed in the Panthéon; however, the guards insisted that I leave.
June 2004
The installation in the Jardin Botanique, Bayonne, France. The home of Roland Barthes for much of his adolescence, Bayonne is also known for the Jambon de Bayonne or Bayonne ham. Jambon de Bayonne was apparently discovered after a wild boar fell into local saline springs and was preserved by the salt.
May 2005
I made this installation on a railing in Singapore’s Botanic Gardens. Situated off the South coast of the Malaysia Peninsular, Singapore is approximately 40km across at it’s widest point (East-West) by 24km at it’s longest point (North-South). Due to land reclamation it is continually getting bigger.
September 2007
Installation in the Linnaeus Garden Museum, Uppsala Sweden.
Situations
Provisional Arrangements
Falsework
