Hercules
2005 – video projection in a wall gap
A big, powerful man is trapped inside a 40-centimeter-wide gap between two walls. Using all his might, he attempts to push the walls further apart. The sounds of his moaning and groaning fill the room, until he eventually collapses from exhaustion and then tries his luck again.
Together with the works “Push-Ups” and “Push-Up Twins”, this video projection was first shown as part of the solo exhibition “Body-Bilder” (Body Images, 2005) on the lower level of the Galerie Gabriele Rivet in Cologne. The sounds of the athletes all mix together to make the gallery space sound like a gym.
“Hercules”, too, starkly contrasts the physical exertion of an active individual with the passive role of the viewer.
Actor: Willi Hölzel