An Australian artist intentionally got buried alive in a steel tomb for a bizarre art exhibit, then explained his work to an audience at the University of Tasmania Tuesday.
Mike Parr, 73, explained his project after emerging from 72 hours in his tomb Sunday for the “Underneath the Bitumen the Artist” exhibit, a part of the Dark Mofo festival, ABC News reported. The artist was entombed underneath a busy road, which cars continued to use following his fake burial. The exhibit’s objective was to commemorate brutality to Indigenous Australians by British colonialism in the 19th century. (RELATED: Eccentric Artist Chains Himself To Artwork, But Then Gets Stuck)
Oxygen pumped into Parr’s 66-by-88-inch tomb kept him alive. The artist’s temporary resting place included a bed, stool, waste buckets and water. He brought a sketchpad, pencils and a book to keep him occupied during the project. He also practiced intermittent fasting and meditation in order to properly prepare for the performance. It took a crew nearly two hours to get him out of the tomb, news.com.au reported. (RELATED: Google Doodle Honors 20th Century Turkish Artist)
“In 100 years this will be a revelation — we’ll think ‘this is how they lived in the second half of the 21st century. Look at their bewilderment, their alienation,'” Parr said to an audience at the university. “It was increasingly noisy because the road was subsiding and I could see the light of vehicles,” Parr added, explaining that the noise was deafening. (RELATED: ‘Male Pregnancy’ Makes Debut At Fashion Show)
WATCH:
It is done. Mike Parr resurfaces #DarkMofo pic.twitter.com/9bxqOM4SzN
— Tim Douglas (@TimDouglas_Aus) June 17, 2018
The aftermath – this is the very box Mike Parr spent the last 3 days in. @WINNews_Tas @Dark_Mofo pic.twitter.com/pUbm0ADgVl
— Jake Keating (@JakeKeating_) June 17, 2018
Parr is known for his shocking performances. He previously sewed his lips shut, and has also used an axe to wreck a prosthetic arm filled with fake blood.
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