40 DAYS ON A BENCH IN BERLIN
WHEN? 1 April-10 May 2022.
WHERE? On a bench in Berlin.
WHAT? A long durational performance.
HOW? Sit for 40 minutes a day for 40 days in a row (same time, same place every day). Sit and "do nothing" apart from observing your surroundings and your thoughts. The documentation is happening on the writer's facebook page and on instagram typing in the hashtag #40daysonabenchinberlin
WHO? The Swedish author and performance poet Louise Halvardsson who turns 40 and is experiencing a midlife crisis.
WHY? To recover after a tough year, reflect on where and how to live, and learn how to "do nothing".
BACKSTORY: It all started when the writer lost her home (a flat in Gothenburg) in an unexpected and even illegal way. This coincided with the death of a friend/colleague and at the same time she tried to catch up on all her freelance work that had been put forward during the pandemic. The writer was close to burnout and she felt "the only thing I want to do is to sit on a bench".
BERLIN? So why Berlin? Well, Berlin is a place where many artists of different kinds have lived during a period in life. Nick Cave! David Bowie! Lou Reed! When the writer was younger it felt natural to move somewhere for a year, live out of a rucksack and see what happens. After eight and a half years in the same flat she had become a bit too comfy, so after the first disappointment she saw the "homelessness" as a chance to try something different. A bench in Berlin is also a nice alliteration.
FOOTNOTE: The project is a loose continuation of Louise Halvardsson's 30-year-old-crisis-project: Swenglish, when she stayed with 30 different people for 30 week and asked them 30 questions to work out where and how to live.
