Belgian artist rescued from installation representing 'inescapable burden of history'
Man chained to block of marble had to be cut free after he failed to liberate himself by chiselling away at the stone
A Belgian man who chained himself to a block of marble to show the “burden of history” from which artists cannot escape, was unable to free himself and had to be cut loose after 19 days.
In a performance that lasted 438 hours, Mikes Poppe attached himself to a three-metre (10ft) chain buried in the middle of a block of marble in the courthouse of the Belgian coastal city of Ostend.
Poppe, who ate, slept, washed and drew while chained, worked to liberate himself by chiselling away the stone towards the chain, but eventually had to be cut free.