Sven Windszus | Lebensraum (Living Space), 2020

The fate of the human race is within the hands of each participant. Through handling the pump, Windszus invites the participant to populate the glass tank with randomly generated heads. Like balloons, the inflated heads squeeze against each other as the tank becomes more crowded. As space increasingly narrows, the heads pant more heavily, struggling to keep up with the rising water level. If we keep pumping, the living condition for each head becomes more severe. The participants are left with the responsibility to decide.

Between continuing pumping or halting the process, Windszus brilliantly visualises the consequences of overpopulation. Living Space calls on decisions to be made, as we face the destruction of our habitat due to the rising sea level. The dichotomic responsibilities - between the survival of human populations and the preservation of our habitat - are rehearsed in the experiment prompted by the air pump. The urgent calling of disintegrated living conditions due to climate change informs our interaction with the installation.